On 8 February 2023, journalist Mstislav Pismenkov was detained in Verkhnyaya Salda, a medium-sized city in Russia’s Sverdlovsk region. Pismenkov spoke about his arrest to It’s My City, an independent online media based in the nearby regional capital Yekaterinburg.
It’s My City wrote that Pismenkov travelled to Verkhnyaya Salda for reporting work, and asked locals about the consequences the war in Ukraine had had on their lives. He was then detained for several hours by police before being released without charges. According to Pismenkov himself, police were suspicious of him filming and of the fact that he had asked locals questions.
A metal factory which earlier produced material for Airbus and Boeing is located in Verkhnyaya Salda, wrote MediaZona, adding that the airplane construction companies withdrew from contracts with the factory last year.