In St Petersburg, a citizen of Russia, the United States and Ukraine has gone on trial over comments in support of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The 1st Western District Military Court has begun hearing the case of 66-year-old Aleksandr Antonov, who stands accused of inciting terrorism (Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code) and extremism (Part 2 of Article 280 of the Criminal Code). This was reported by Mediazona.

Antonov holds citizenship in three countries: Russia, Ukraine, and the USA.

At today’s session, the prosecutor said the man is accused of inciting terrorism and extremism because of comments left in the Telegram channel “Ukraine 365” in 2024.

According to the prosecution, on 12 March Antonov posted the comment “Bravo, Azov!” and an emoji “with a flag and a thumbs up.” On 22 April he wrote: “Degenerates, non-humans, burn all the military.” In July, while in the USA, Antonov wrote in Ukrainian: “Well done!” with several emojis. Mediazona does not specify under which posts the man left these comments.

Antonov is also charged over the comment “I only believe in the Armed Forces of Ukraine! Death to <expletive>,” posted on 24 June 2022. According to the prosecution, at this time the man was in occupied Crimea.

At the hearing, Antonov said he admitted his guilt, regretted his actions, and asked forgiveness from all those who saw his comments. He explained that he made the posts due to a lack of historical knowledge and misunderstanding of the “objectives of the special military operation,” and that during his detention he had read a book by propagandist Vladimir Solovyov and “understood what Russia is fighting for,” writes SOTAvision.

Before the criminal proceedings, Antonov went through a series of “carousel arrests.” On 9 March 2025, the Pechorsky District Court of Pskov Region sentenced him to 10 days' detention under a protocol for petty hooliganism (Article 20.1 of the Administrative Code). The court ruling said Antonov had tried to start a fight outside the Planeta hotel. He denied this.

On 17 March, the same court gave Antonov a further 14 days' detention under a protocol for displaying prohibited symbols (Part 1 of Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code) because of the comment “Glory to Ukraine.” The court’s decision indicated that at this time his mobile phone was confiscated.

Before today’s court session, Antonov said he was detained in March at the Estonian border while travelling from Russia to Latvia. After his phone was checked at the border he was held for a couple of days at the checkpoint, then given administrative arrest. After the second court decision for detention, Antonov was taken to the FSB because of comments found on his phone.

Materials disclosed in court today confirm that Antonov’s administrative arrest did not happen immediately after his initial detention. For example, the court read out the testimony of FSB officer Vladimir Kuskov, who serves at the Shumilkino checkpoint on the Estonian-Russian border. He said that in the night of 6 March it was established that Antonov lived in Crimea, visited western regions of Ukraine and “had a negative attitude to the special military operation.” Security officials discovered the man was subscribed to Ukrainian Telegram channels and on 7 March carried out an operational search during which they examined his phone. According to the FSB officer, Antonov voluntarily gave them his phone password.

The date on which the man was placed in custody is unknown. On 4 April he was entered onto Rosfinmonitoring’s list of “terrorists and extremists.”

A woman with whom Antonov had lived for several years testified as a witness in the criminal case. She said that the man owns a wallpaper factory in Dnipro and a construction business in Budapest. According to the witness, Antonov had a neutral attitude toward the war in Ukraine and “rarely spoke in support of any country.”

Antonov was born in Perm Region. Mediazona, citing leaked databases, writes that he mostly lived in Crimea and was registered in Yalta. He also trained as a railway worker in Dnipro. He himself said he worked for seven years in the USA, but later decided to return to Russia. In the US he left behind a wife, whom he is divorcing, and four children.