28.06.2022, Russland, Moskau: Ilja Jaschin, russischer Oppositionspolitiker und Abgeordneter des Moskauer Bezirks Krasnoselskij, spricht vor einer Gerichtsverhandlung mit seiner Mutter. Wegen Ungehorsams gegen Polizeibeamte müsse er für 15 Tage in Haft. Jaschin selbst kritisierte das Vorgehen der russischen Justiz als politisch motiviert. Foto: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP/dpa +++ dpa-Bildfunk +++

Russian authorities have launched a criminal investigation into Ilya Yashin, one of the last remaining opposition figures in Russia who has not yet been sentenced to lengthy prison terms. Yashin is being investigated for “spreading false information about the Russian military,” Yashin’s lawyer Vadim Prokhorov said Tuesday on Facebook. The investigators called him and informed him that a house search was planned at Yashin’s. “I will go there,” Prokhorov wrote.

Ilya Yashin, 39, was sentenced to 15 days in prison on June 28 for “disobedience to the police” and was still in prison on Tuesday. Before the new allegations became known, Yashin had reported in online services that he was to be released shortly after 1 a.m. on Wednesday.

“Spreading false information” about the Russian military is punishable by up to 15 years in prison in Russia. The law criminalizes criticism of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine and was introduced after the Russian invasion.

Yashin rose to prominence in Russia during the anti-Kremlin protest movement in 2011-2012. He is close to the Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who is currently serving nine years in a prison camp. When the military offensive against Ukraine began, he decided to stay and publicly condemned the invasion. (AFP)

In the small town of Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine, the death toll after a Russian rocket attack on a house has risen to 45. Nine people have been rescued from the rubble since the attack on Saturday, civil defense in the Donetsk region said on Tuesday. Kyiv speaks of a civilian residential building. The Russian army, on the other hand, claims to have attacked a building used for military purposes. The information can hardly be verified independently.

On Tuesday, a woman was also injured as a result of artillery fire in the city of Sloviansk. Other towns in the area, such as Bakhmut and Soledar, were also under fire. At least five people were also injured in neighboring Kharkiv as a result of Russian attacks, said military governor Oleh Synyehubov. (dpa)

Delegations from Russia and Ukraine are in Turkey on Wednesday to discuss resuming grain deliveries across the Black Sea. According to Ankara, representatives of the UN and Turkey will also take part in the meeting in Istanbul. Ukraine is one of the world’s largest exporters of wheat and other grains.

Millions of tons of wheat are stuck in Ukrainian ports that are under Russian control or blocked by Russian troops. Since the start of the Ukraine war on February 24, grain supplies have deteriorated in many countries. Turkey has traditionally maintained good relations with both Ukraine and Russia and is trying to mediate between the conflicting parties. (AFP)