Criticism of Akhmat fighters resulted in a fine for a Belgorod resident.

A court fined a Belgorod resident for defamation of the army after she left a comment criticizing Akhmat fighters on a Z-blogger's channel.

As "Caucasian Knot" reported, criticism of the Akhmat special forces and its fighters has repeatedly led to public apologies. Thus, in July 2024, Z-blogger Vladimir Romanov, who positions himself as a war correspondent, called Akhmat fighters "TikTokers," and two days after the publication, he was "visiting the Akhmat unit," spoke with its commander, Apti Alaudinov, and apologized for spreading "false information." In August of the same year, a soldier serving in the Kursk region apologized for criticizing Akhmat.

A court in Belgorod fined local resident Irina Maleeva for a comment criticizing the Akhmat unit. The case of the 38-year-old woman, who called herself a military volunteer, was reported by the Belgorod publication "Ash."

The woman left her comment back in March 2025 under a post on Vladimir Romanov's channel. He had previously apologized to Akhmat fighters for TikTokers. The post Maleeva commented on stated that Akhmat special forces fighters were being redeployed to the Belgorod region due to the Ukrainian Armed Forces' offensive in the Krasnoyarsk district. The comment was discovered "six months later" by an operative from the Belgorod Region Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who filed an administrative violation report, the publication writes.

Maleeva's case was heard by the Oktyabrsky District Court of Belgorod. The ruling, published on the court's website, includes the text of her comment. She suggested that Romanov was now being "paid" for positive publications about Akhmat, recalling how the special forces fighters "themselves reported that they had 'missed' Ukrainian units.

“... And now they've heroically advanced. We in Belgorod see heroism clearly. They live in hotels and drive around the city stoned,” she wrote.

The court concluded that “the subjective opinion about the Akhmat special battalion unit, expressed by a Belgorod resident, falls under the article on discrediting the army as ‘aimed at diminishing its authority and undermining trust’ in the unit.”

Maleeva admitted guilt in court, citing emotions “caused by the current events in the country and her health.” She also stated during the trial that she helped military personnel as a volunteer. The court sentenced her to the minimum fine stipulated by the article – 30,000 rubles.