A Ukrainian man has been fined for liking a post calling for the overthrow of his country’s government on a Russian social media network, after Kiev prosecutors charged him with undermining national security.
On Sunday, Kiev’s Strana reported that the ruling had been handed down by a court in the northeastern Sumy Oblast in late December. The man, known as Yuri K., was punished for reacting to an image which called for the unification of Ukraine and Belarus with Russia, on the platform Odnoklassniki, which translates as ‘classmates’ and is banned in the country.
The image in question featured the flags of the three nations alongside text appealing for them to be unified as “one people.” Under the illustration, there was a call which read “let’s overthrow the current authorities in Kiev!”
“If you agree – like and repost,” the text accompanying the photograph read, adding that “our strength is in unity.”