A Russian politician has reported Vladimir Putin for using the word “war” to describe the conflict Ukraine.
Nikita Yuferev, an opposition councilor in St. Petersburg, asked prosecutors to investigate the president for violating his own laws.
Putin has so far described his invasion only as a “special military operation,” introducing legislation threatening Russians with jail time for spreading “deliberately false information” if they describe it as a war.
However, he told reporters on Thursday, “Our goal is not to turn the flywheel of a military conflict, but on the contrary, to end this war.”
Yuferev said he knew his legal challenge would go nowhere, but said he made the report to expose the “falsehood” of the system.
He said: “It is important for me to do this to draw attention to the contradiction and the injustice of these laws that Putin adopts and signs, but which he himself does not enforce.
“I think the more we talk about this, the more people will question his honesty, his infallibility, and the less support he will have.”
Yuferev began the legal challenge in an open letter written to the Attorney General and the Interior Minister, saying “hold Putin responsible by law for spreading fake news about the actions of the Russian military.”
He also said critics who have publicly called the conflict a war have received harsh punishments.
Opposition politician Ilya Yashin was sentenced this month to eight and a half years in prison for spreading ‘false information’ about the army.
In July, city councilor Alexei Gorinov was sentenced to seven years for criticizing the invasion.
Yuferev has said he has reported other top Kremlin figures for using the word “war,” including Sergei Kiriyenko, deputy head of the presidential administration, and senior lawmaker Sergei Mironov.
However, police said they either did nothing wrong or refused to even investigate the matter.
Yufurev has received hundreds of hate messages since publishing his open letter, but he believes the majority of Russians understand what is happening in Ukraine.
He said: ‘War is a frightening word in Russian society. Everyone was raised by grandparents who lived through World War II, everyone remembers the saying ‘Everything but war.’
Contact our news team by sending an email to [email protected].
For more stories like this, check our news page.