Russian Couple Arrested For Anti-War Comments During Private Conversation At Restaurant

A court in Russia's western Krasnodar region has penalized a married couple in connection to a conversation about the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, according to reports.

The Leninsky District Court sentenced Alexey Ovchinnikov to 15 days in prison, while his wife, Olesya Ovchinnikov, received a 1,000-ruble ($14) fine, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported.

Both were found guilty of petty hooliganism following an incident in a Krasnodar city restaurant Sunday evening.

The two had come to the establishment that night with a female friend, and Olesya ended up discussing news regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine with the couple's unnamed companion after Alexei went out of the establishment to smoke.

However, another patron approached the two women and "began to present themself in a rude manner," the Ovchinnikovs' lawyer, Alexei Avanesyan, told independent Russian media outlet Mediazona.

A conflict allegedly erupted when Alexey returned to the restaurant, which resulted in members of Russia's National Guard, more commonly known as the Rosgvardiya, intervening.

Authorities put the Ovchinnikovs face down on the floor, handcuffed the couple and took them into custody, Kavkazsky Uzel reported.

The two were detained because of "pacifist statements," according to Olesya, who also said "glory to Ukraine, glory to the heroes, glory to Zelensky" during the arrests, footage uploaded on Telegram showed.

"Slava Ukraini," translated as "Glory to Ukraine" in English, is a popular Ukrainian salute that is often accompanied by the response, "Heroiam slava," or "Glory to the heroes!"

Charges were drawn against Alexey and Olesya following the incident.

The Leninsky District Court handed down penalties after it determined that both Alexey and Olesya behaved defiantly, violated public order and used foul language, per Kommersant.

Olesya was also accused of "discrediting" the Russian army, but no decision on the charge has been made yet.

Amendments to Russia's Criminal Code signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in March last year made "discrediting" the country's armed forces punishable for up to five years.

In a similar story, a woman in Russia's southeastern Zabaykalsky region was fined because she "liked" an online post about Russian military fatalities in the invasion of Ukraine.