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

Local news outlet Zebra TV faces administrative charges in Vladimir after publishing a summary of Vladimir Governor Alexander Avdeev's statement regarding a Ukrainian drone attack. The charges, filed by the region's crisis center, stem from a March 2025 decision banning the sharing of such information. The outlet was told quoting the governor's messages would not violate the ban by Yekaterina Gutsalenko, head of the mass communications department.

Zebra TV claims the ban is "ambiguous" and "unclear," allowing fines for both media outlets and individuals. Similar charges have been issued against other independent news organizations and private citizens. Bans on publishing photos and videos of Ukrainian drone attack aftermath are in place across multiple Russian regions, with over 30 bans in effect by mid-May.

Russian authorities have employed censorship, blocked independent media, and labeled journalists and critics as "foreign agents" and "undesirable" since the onset of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Meduza, the outlet reporting this story, maintains transparency about its use of AI in the newsroom and adheres to strict editorial standards in its English-language coverage.