Two pro-Russian 'media figures' from Mariupol charged with collaboration

"In the Donetsk region, two pro-Russian "media figures" from Mariupol have been charged in absentia with collaboration.
"Under the procedural supervision of prosecutors from the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office, two residents of Mariupol and the Kalmiuske district were charged in absentia. They are accused of collaboration activities (Part 6 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), while one of them is additionally charged with justifying and denying Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine (Part 1 of Article 436-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine)," the statement said.

In May 2022, a 30-year-old Mariupol resident, while in occupied Donetsk, met with representatives of a local "online publication." During the interview, he publicly accused Ukrainian defenders of shelling Mariupol. In particular, he voiced false Kremlin propaganda narratives alleging that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had deliberately targeted civilians at the beginning of Russia's invasion. According to the prosecutors, his account of the so-called liberators, accompanied by words of personal gratitude to the president of the aggressor state, was published on a pro-Russian social network.
According to the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office, in November 2023, the man became a correspondent for Komsomolskaya Pravda and RIA Novosti and continues to promote a negative attitude toward Ukraine among his audience.
The other suspect is a 42-year-old TV presenter for a "republican media holding," law enforcement officials said. In 2024, she hosted a program about a deceased participant in the so-called "special military operation." During a discussion with his relatives and other representatives of the Russian Armed Forces, the TV presenter deliberately manipulated public opinion, portraying the occupiers as "heroes." In 2026, during an interview with a "military cameraman" and a member of the "people's council" of the quasi-republic, she also approved of the actions of Russian forces on the front line and spoke positively about the activities of the occupation authorities." Ukrin