Russian journalist sentenced to 6 years over Ukraine posts

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian journalist has been convicted of disparaging her country’s military and received a six-year prison sentence. The court in the city of Barnaul in southern Siberia found Maria Ponomarenko guilty on Wednesday of “spreading false information about the Russian armed forces’ actions” with her posts on a messaging app. Ponomarenko, who worked for the RusNews portal, denied the charges. She is the latest person to be pubished in a relentless crackdown on critics of Moscow’s actions in Ukraine. Days after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the Kremlin-controlled parliament approved legislation that outlawed the spread of “false information” about the country’s military campaign in Ukraine.