70-Year-Old Russian Woman Fined For Calling Ukraine's Zelensky A 'Handsome Young Man'

A 70-year-old visually-impaired Muscovite woman was fined by Russian authorities for allegedly complimenting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Olga Slegina was convicted by the Scherbinsky District Court of Moscow and slapped with a 40,000 roubles ($489) fine for allegedly "discrediting" the Russian army by calling Zelensky a "handsome young man."

According to information from the Russian Memorial Human Rights Center, the court hearing where the verdict was issued lasted for less than five minutes.

Lidiya Anosova, Slegina's lawyer, petitioned the court to postpone the hearing over her client's inability to attend the meeting due to numerous health issues and emotional stress brought by the incident.

"Slegina is not in intensive care. Walks, alive, healthy," the judge said while rejecting the petition.

A previous report from the Memorial Center said Slegina was staying at a sanatorium in Nalchik, a city in Kabardino-Balkaria, and was having a casual talk with a woman from Odessa when the incident happened. The two were talking about how to properly pronounce "palyanytsya," a type of bread in Ukraine, when a waitress who was apparently eavesdropping on their conversation chimed in and called Zelensky a "freak."

"Zelensky is a handsome young man with a good sense of humor, everyone used to laugh at his jokes," Slegina reportedly told the waitress.

"Don't Ukrainians in your republic shout 'Glory to Ukraine, like we do in Moscow'?" she added.

However, when the waitress testified before the court, she allegedly twisted Slegina's words, claiming that the 70-year-old pensioner in fact said, "Glory to Ukraine, Zelensky is a golden man, he will rule everyone and Russia will be 'in the ass,'" a translation of the statement read.

A few days after the encounter, police interrogated the elder woman at her home in Moscow. She was then allegedly made to sign a document that she couldn't properly comprehend as she was suffering from cataracts and was unable to read without the aid of her glasses.

The Memorial Center said Slegina only signed the document because she was stressed out by the situation and wanted to end the interrogation quickly.

It also noted how the police misrepresented Slegina's words, saying that she shouted "Slava Ukraini" (Glory to Ukraine) and expressed dissatisfaction with how the country is being run.

"Slegina expressed her support for Ukraine, believing that Ukrainians are glorifying their country, while Russian soldiers are fleeing the war," read part of the sworn statement Slegina was allegedly forced to sign, according to a report by The Insider.

Slegina intends to appeal the decision.