The Second Western District Military Court in Moscow sentenced former Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych to 11 years in a penal colony in absentia, Mediazona reported from the courtroom. Under the verdict, he must spend the first three years in prison and is barred from administering websites for four years.
The case was heard in a single day behind closed doors to 'ensure the safety of trial participants'. Prosecutors had requested 15 years. Arestovych was found guilty of spreading military 'fakes' (Part 2, Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code) and public calls for terrorism (Part 2, Article 205.2).
The criminal case stemmed from a video dated March 17, 2022, in which Arestovych allegedly called for 'a total rail war against the enemy in the occupied territories', and an April 8, 2022 post about Russia's strike on the Kramatorsk railway station.
Rosfinmonitoring, Russia's financial watchdog, added Arestovych to its list of 'terrorists and extremists' in May 2023. He responded on Twitter: 'A trifle, but pleasant.' In February 2024, the Basmanny District Court of Moscow ordered his arrest in absentia.
Arestovych rose to prominence after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As an adviser to the Ukrainian presidential office, he held daily briefings. He left the post in January 2023 after saying that a Russian missile that hit a residential building in Dnipro had allegedly been shot down by Ukrainian air defenses. The remarks drew sharp criticism in Ukraine and were widely amplified by Russian propaganda.
After leaving office, Arestovych left Ukraine. In Ukraine, criminal cases have been opened against him: in October 2023, police launched a pre-trial investigation on charges of distributing works that promote intolerance and discrimination, following his comments about women. In November, the National Police opened a second case over knowingly false reporting of a crime. Arestovych continues to run a YouTube channel with 1.85 million subscribers.