A protocol for «discrediting» the army was drawn up against the editor-in-chief of the pro-government media «IvanovoNEWS | BARS» Sergey Kustov, reported the publication «7×7»*.
The reason was a news article by IvanovoNEWS about a video appeal by relatives of soldiers missing in action in the war in Ukraine from the 98th Airborne Division, which is based in Ivanovo. It included a list of names of 17 soldiers missing in Ukraine. According to Kustov, the police officer considered the mistake in the surname of one of the missing — a soft sign was omitted — as «spreading unverified information as true».
Kustov published a fragment of the protocol, which stated that he published «false, inaccurate, or distorted information aimed at undermining trust in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation». The news was removed from the publication's website.
However, on December 28, 2024, an administrative protocol was drawn up without the journalist's presence.
«Don't you want to look into the eyes of the mothers who have not known for a year where their son is? Don't you want to explain to a son or daughter when they can receive their father's body so they can bury him properly? <...> Of course, it's much easier to slap me with a 300-thousand fine to silence everyone who is ready to give a voice to the relatives of the missing...» — Kustov wrote on his Telegram channel.
In March 2024, the journalist was beaten when he arrived at the crash site of an Il-76 military transport aircraft near the Severny airfield, which resulted in the death of 15 people. After that, he was arrested for 10 days under the article on disobedience to the police. According to the documents of the pre-investigation check, among the attackers was a military police officer. Investigators refused to initiate a criminal case.
In August 2024, IvanovoNEWS also removed a text about a soldier's complaints from Rodniki, Ivanovo region, about his superiors at the request of the Prosecutor General's Office, but no sanctions were applied to journalists at that time.
* Recognized in Russia as a «foreign agent».