Three women in Crimea fined and forced to apologize for dancing to song by Ukrainian singer Verka Serduchka

A Russian-controlled court in the Crimean city of Alushta has fined three women for “discrediting” the Russian army and forced them to apologize after they publicly danced to a song by Ukrainian comedian and singer Verka Serduchka.

According to a police statement, three women who work as children’s performers at an Alushta water park were charged with “publicly dancing to the song of a Ukrainian artist with an inappropriate meaning.”

The women are 19, 20, and 26 years old. One is from Alushta while the other two came to Crimea from Russia for seasonal work. They were fined 15,000 rubles ($150) each.

A video shared by the pro-Russian blogger Alexander Talipov shows the women dancing to the song Gulyanko, which includes the words: “Ukraine [clearly] hasn’t died yet, if we’re partying like this.” Later, he posted a video in which the women apologize and sing a song called “Vladimir Putin is great.”