On 1 June 2026, the Zavolzhsky District Court in Ulyanovsk arrested in absentia Anastasia Chumakova, founder and editor-in-chief of the independent media outlet ASTRA, in a criminal case on the alleged dissemination of “false information” about the Russian army, according to SOTAvision.
The case was opened against Chumakova in October 2025, when she was also added to Russia’s list of “terrorists and extremists”. In November 2025, Russian authorities put her on the country’s ‘wanted’ list.
According to the case materials, the prosecution is linked to Chumakova’s reposts of ASTRA publications about Russian war crimes in Bucha, Kyiv region, in spring 2022, when the area was occupied by Russian forces. The posts reportedly included testimonies from relatives of killed civilians.
Law enforcement officers previously searched the apartment of Chumakova’s mother in Ulyanovsk in connection with the case.