Ukrainian prankster faces criminal charges in Russia for spreading disinformation about Kemerovo fire victims
MOSCOW. March 28 (Interfax) - The Russian Investigative Committee has launched a criminal case against a Ukrainian prankster, who was spreading false information about the number of victims of the fire in Kemerovo, and is planning to place him on the international wanted list, the committee's spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said.
"Having conducted an inquiry, officers at the Russian Investigative Committee have opened a criminal case under Article 282 of the Criminal Code (inciting hatred or animosity) concerning the Ukrainian citizen [Nikita] Kuvikov, known online as prankster Evgeniy Volnov," Petrenko told Interfax on Wednesday.
According to the inquiry, Kuvikov misinformed the public about the fire death toll, "misleading relatives of the dead and injured, thereby attempting to destabilize the situation."
"The investigators intend to petition a court for Kuvikov's arrest in absentia. He will be placed on the international wanted list soon," Petrenko said.
A day earlier, a preliminary investigation was under way in respect of Kuvikov, she said.