Ukrainian man arrested in Voronezh after removing patches with pro-war symbols from children’s clothing in shelter

A Voronezh court has sentenced a 38-year-old man named Vladimir Zaklyazminsky to 12 days in prison and fined him 35,000 rubles ($369) on charges of disorderly conduct and “discrediting” the Russian army after he ripped out patches containing pro-war symbols from the clothes of children in temporary accommodation centers.

Russia police allege that in May 2023, Zaklyazminsky committed acts aimed at “discrediting” the Russian Armed Forces, used obscene language towards the military, and exhibited aggression towards children. 

Zaklyazminsky was arrested on August 19. That same day, the Russian television network REN TV posted a video in which a woman is heard asking a man she addresses as Vova (a nickname for Vladimir) why he removed a patch from her child’s clothing. He explains that he opposes the war and that he removed Z and Wagner Group symbols from multiple children’s clothes because wearing such symbols is “shameful.” According to REN TV, the man in the video is a displaced person from Ukraine and the conversation took place at a temporary accommodation center.