Ruslan Leviev, head of Conflict Intelligence Team, and Michael Nacke, a journalist, are accused of “spreading fake news about the Russian army” for covering the events of 4 March when the Russian army shelled The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in Ukraine, according to Setevye Svobody.
According to the investigation, Leviev and Nacke “entered into a criminal conspiracy in order to form a negative attitude towards the Russian armed forces in society and convince the audience that the Russian army attacked the civilian population and destroyed the civilian infrastructure of Ukraine.”
On 5 March they “implemented their villainous intent by publishing a video on Michael Nacke's YouTube channel dedicated to the results of the ninth day of the war, in which they spread false information about the use of the Russian army to destroy cities and civilians; they used video editing to prove these accusations. This contradicts the official position of the Russian Defence Ministry,” reads the agency’s statement.
Michael Nacke deliberately calls the “special military operation” “war” and is aware that spreading fake news is a criminal offence, says the agency. Leviev stated that “the craziest thing one could say is that the Ukrainians set their own nuclear plant on fire.”
Moscow’s Basmanny court arrested Leviev and Nacke in absentia on 18 March and put them on the wanted list; both journalists now live outside Russia and publish daily reviews of the warfare events on YouTube.
