A farmer from the Rostov region achieved the cancellation of a fine for a fire caused by a drone crash.

The court in the Rostov region canceled the fine for Alexander Greshnov, recognizing him as innocent in the fire that occurred in the field after the downing of a drone.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on September 1, it became known that a 64-year-old farmer in the Rostov region was fined 60,000 rubles for the untimely removal of crop residues. The reason for the administrative fine was a fire in his field, which arose after the downing of a Ukrainian drone. The "People's Farmer" association defended the farmer, sending a request to the regional prosecutor's office demanding the cancellation of the fine.

Farmer Alexander Greshnov, on whose field a fire occurred after the downing of a UAV fragment, managed to contest the fine, reports today "Kommersant" citing the unified press service of the courts of the Rostov region.

The fine was canceled by the decision of the Millerovsky District Court, the publication notes.

According to data on the district court's website, the decision on the case was made on September 24. "Canceled with termination of proceedings," is indicated in the case card as the result of the meeting. The basis for Judge Svetlana Kovaleva's decision was cited as "the absence of an administrative offense."

The case was submitted to the court on September 9, with the only party in the process listed as the head of the Greshnov agricultural farm, Alexander Mikhailovich Greshnov, involved under part 2 of Article 20.4 of the Administrative Offenses Code of the Russian Federation.

The fine caused outrage among his colleagues

Recall that the colleagues of the fined farmer pointed out that farmers in southern Russia are already facing problems with grain sales and high production costs. In their opinion, shifting the blame for the consequences of military actions onto farmers is absurd.

"This case demonstrates the total formalism and detachment of officials from reality," stated, in particular, Nikolai Zhigulin, a member of the "People's Farmer" association, to "Caucasian Knot." He noted that similar incidents with fines for fires in fields have occurred before.

The decision on the fine in this situation is legally unfounded, noted lawyer Patimat Abdulayeva.

"Administrative punishment under Article 20.4 of the Administrative Offenses Code of the Russian Federation implies the presence of guilt, while the fall of debris from a downed drone is a direct action of force majeure, for which fire safety regulations simply did not account. The fire occurred not due to a violation of agronomic rules, but as a result of external extraordinary influence," she explained earlier to "Caucasian Knot."