AP asked the mass media not to write about the crimes of those returning from the war

The presidential administration asked propagandists not to talk about crimes committed by subjects who returned from the war against Ukraine. “Meduza” writes about this with reference to two employees of the publication, close to the authorities.

According to the interlocutors of the publication, there were no such recommendations before, and some pro-government mass media published similar news, as they always arouse the interest of readers and provide traffic.

The Meduza source, close to the president’s administration, clarified that the restrictions were in place so that the Russians would not consider the fighters as potential criminals and would not be afraid of their return. The interlocutor also reported that truly patriotic journalists, for example, from “Komsomolskaya Pravda” and “Moscow Komsomolets” and the recommendations of the Kremlin, recognized the inappropriateness of such publications.

“There is a desire to show that really polite, attentive and caring people are returning from the front,” the Meduza source emphasized.

• Against the background of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, there are regular reports of crimes committed by combatants returning from the war. In many cases, these are prisoners recruited in the colonies and recruited by PMC “Wagner”.
• Recruitment was carried out from the summer of 2022. Prisoners were promised amnesty after six months of service “by secret decrees of the president.” On June 13, 2023, Vladimir Putin confirmed that ex-prisoners returning from the front receive amnesty on the basis of his decrees.