In Russia, people are fined for posting photos of drone attacks and their aftermath
In Russia, since 2025, at least 80 people have been punished for sharing photos and videos showing the aftermath of attacks by Ukrainian drones. Most received fines ranging from 1,000 to 30,000 rubles, and in some cases, people were punished even for forwarding the material to friends, relatives, or colleagues.
In Russia, people are increasingly being punished for posts about the aftermath of Ukrainian drone attacks. According to the publication “Verstka,” courts have heard at least 80 such cases since 2025. Journalists analyzed court databases and found that 75 people were fined, while in five other cases the courts issued only warnings.
The fines varied from 1,000 to 30,000 rubles. The reason for punishment was not limited to publishing photos or videos publicly available online. In some cases, cases were initiated based on materials that people sent in private chat rooms.
People are even punished for forwarding content in work or family chat groups
One such case occurred in the Volgograd region. There, a Russian language teacher at a rural school was fined 3,000 rubles. The woman forwarded a voice message to a work chat group consisting of 15 people. As the court established, the message described a drone attack on targets in a populated area. The message also specified the date, time, and targets that were damaged.
In another case, a resident of Dagestan was punished. The man had a home security camera that recorded drone explosions. He sent the video to a family chat on WhatsApp. The recording later appeared on social media, after which a case was opened against him. He was fined 1,500 rubles. In other words, in some cases, Russian authorities hold people accountable not only for publicly disseminating information. Even forwarding material to another person can serve as grounds for a case.
At the same time, judicial practice is not uniform. “Sending video material via the WhatsApp messenger is not considered a public act,” noted one of the courts that dismissed such a case. In this case, the court ruled that privately forwarding a video does not in and of itself constitute an administrative offense.
Different regions have their own restrictions
People in Russia are being held accountable under various articles. In a number of regions, local laws and orders issued by emergency response headquarters or governors are being applied. Such cases have occurred, in particular, in the Leningrad, Ryazan, Tula, Yaroslavl, Smolensk, Volgograd, Rostov, Orenburg, and Tomsk regions. Similar cases were also recorded in Tatarstan, Dagestan, and Chuvashia.
In these regions, people were punished for publishing information about the consequences of drone attacks. A unique situation arose in Karachay-Cherkessia. There, two people were each fined 30,000 rubles under a provision regarding the abuse of freedom of the press. They had filmed a video of a drone attack on an unfinished hotel in a resort village. The court ruled that the information they disseminated was “knowingly false.”
At least eight people were fined in Crimea
In Russian-annexed Crimea, cases were brought against people who published reports on the aftermath of drone attacks under a different article. There, authorities applied an article of the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses concerning failure to comply with rules of conduct during an emergency. At least eight people were fined on the peninsula for posts about the consequences of drone attacks in 2025–2026.
The restrictions also apply to information about the operation of Russian air defense systems. According to TASS, bans on publishing information about the consequences of drone attacks and the operation of air defense systems are in effect in 62 regions of Russia, as well as in the annexed cities of Sevastopol and Crimea.
Some people were fined twice
In at least three cases, two administrative cases were opened against the same person at once. This happened when people posted videos on different platforms. For example, a resident of the Smolensk region received two fines of 3,000 rubles each. He posted a video showing the aftermath of a drone attack in two public groups on VKontakte. In effect, each individual post could be considered a separate violation.
At the same time, not all such cases resulted in punishment. In addition to the aforementioned case involving the private sharing of a video, there was an instance where the court returned the case file to law enforcement due to procedural deficiencies. The court required the agency to first determine the exact location where the violation occurred. Consequently, a widespread practice has emerged in Russia of restricting information about the consequences of drone attacks. People are being held accountable for social media posts, surveillance camera footage, messages in group chats, and other materials.
According to estimates by “Verstka,” at least 80 people have already been punished for such actions since 2025. However, the actual number of such cases may be higher, as the study is based on publicly available court data. This is reported by Russian media.
On the night of September 11, the Ukrainian Defense Forces struck the Saratov Oil Refinery in Russia. Fires were reported on the refinery’s premises following the attack.
As of the morning of September 10, 2026, the Russian army’s total personnel losses since the start of the full-scale invasion amount to approximately 1,502,390 soldiers. In the past 24 hours alone, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Russia lost another 1,520 servicemen.
