Andrei Zykov
Andrei Zykov, born 1983. Charges: Article 207.3 part 2 item d, Russian Criminal Code (Dissemination of false information about the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, government…); “Andrei Zykov’s case of 'fakes' about the Russian Armed Forces, calls for extremism and terrorism, and incitement to hatred”. Sentence (March 26, 2026): 14 years' imprisonment in a general regime penal colony in absentia, with a 5-year ban on administering websites on the… Status: not in Russia.
In brief
Sentence
14 years
imprisonment in a general regime penal colony in absentia, with a 5-year ban on administering websites on the Internet
No information about an appeal ruling.
Charges
- Article 207.3 part 2 item d, Russian Criminal Code — Dissemination of false information about the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, government agencies, or mercenaries (based on political, ideological, racial, national or religious hatred or enmity, or on grounds of hatred or enmity in relation to any social group)
Full wording of the charges
Investigators allege that while outside the Russian Federation in April 2022, Andrei Zykov joined a public group called 'Politics&Religion' on a messaging app, where he repeatedly posted text entries calling for violence against Russians and inciting contempt for people of Russian nationality. In February 2022, Zykov posted a message on his VKontakte page calling for the killing of individuals based on their membership of a social group—Russian servicemen—and their Russian nationality. In March 2022, he used the same platform to share 'knowingly false information' regarding the use of the Russian Armed Forces during the Special Military Operation in Ukraine. Specifically, these posts alleged that Russian servicemen were murdering Ukrainian civilians, including women, children, and the elderly, and shelling civilian infrastructure with heavy weaponry. Between May 2022 and September 2023, he shared a further 12 similar publications on his page. In September 2023, Zykov published a post calling for explosions and UAV strikes to be carried out on Russian territory.y.
Latest event
March 26, 2026 — first-instance verdict
The court delivered a guilty verdict: 14 years.
Criminal case
Andrei Zykov’s case of 'fakes' about the Russian Armed Forces, calls for extremism and terrorism, and incitement to hatred
- Case number
- 1-158/2026
Thematic group: Anti-war case
Details and sources
Full summary
Resident of St. Petersburg, left Russia. He lived in China and sold vape liquids. Blogger Ilya Varlamov claims that one of the reasons for the prosecution was a post in which Zykov wrote that he had sent a "batch of poison" to Russia. A case under one of the extremist articles was brought against the businessman no later than May 2023, when he was included in the list of terrorists and extremists of Rosfinmonitoring. Later it became known that he was accused of spreading deliberately false information about the Russian Armed Forces (because of posts about killing Ukrainian civilians and shelling civilian infrastructure), calls for terrorism and extremism (because of calls to kill Russian servicemen and strike Russian territory) and incitement to hatred with the threat of violence. Zykov left for the United States, where he sought political asylum. As of February 2026, he was in U.S. immigration detention. In March 2026, his case came before the 2nd Western District Military Court. On 26 March, Zykov was sentenced in absentia to 14 years in prison.
All fields of the record
- Citizenship
- Russia
Other people prosecuted under Article 207.3 part 2 item d, Russian Criminal Code
Under the same article, not necessarily in the same case.