One Russian region’s ban on sharing information about Ukrainian drone strikes is so vague that officials just brought charges against a local news outlet for paraphrasing the governor

Authorities in Vladimir have filed administrative charges against the editorial staff of local news outlet Zebra TV over publishing the governor’s message about a Ukrainian drone attack.

The charges stem from a news article headlined “A drone strike caused an overnight fire in a Vladimir high-rise,” in which the author summarized a post by Vladimir Governor Alexander Avdeev.

According to the charging document, publishing or distributing that post is banned under a March 2025 decision by the region’s crisis center, and the outlet now faces a fine of up to 200,000 rubles.

The charges were filed following a denunciation from Yekaterina Gutsalenko, head of the mass communications department in the governor’s administration. Zebra TV says that same official formally advised the outlet, after the decision took effect, that quoting the governor’s messages did not violate the ban.

Zebra TV also says the ban itself is worded “ambiguously” and “unclearly,” allowing authorities to fine not only media outlets but ordinary residents of the region. The outlet says officials have already begun filing similar charges against other independent news organizations and private citizens.

Bans on publishing photos and videos of the aftermath of Ukrainian drone attacks are already in effect across numerous Russian regions, and by mid-May there were more than 30 such bans.

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian authorities have effectively imposed censorship, blocked independent media outlets, and designated journalists and war critics as “foreign agents” and organizations as “undesirable.”