On 15 February 2023, journalist Maria Ponomarenko was sentenced to six years in prison for allegedly “discrediting” the Russian army by publishing information on a Russian bombing of a theater in Mariupol, during a Russian offensive on the Ukrainain city in March 2022. Ponomarenko, who works for online media RusNews, was also barred from working as a reporter and from any online activities for five years. The journalist had published the information on the bombings on her Telegram channel, which she named “No Censorship”, and which had an audience of 1600 users at the time.

In April, Ponomarenko was detained and brought to the Investigative Committee in St. Petersburg, where was charged. Russian authorities claimed that civilians were not hurt in the bombing of the Mariupol Drama Theater, which killed approximately 600 people according to independent estimates.

Ponomarenko was later forcefully transferred from her detention center to a psychiatric hospital, where she was sent to undergo a full examination. During her stay, she was not be allowed to receive letters and was allegedly submitted to medical procedures by force. Family visits were also forbidden. Ponomarenko was then again transferred to a detention center, where in September she attempted to commit suicide. She was then allowed to leave the center in November to remain under house arrest.

On 27 January 2023, Ponomarenko was again placed under arrest after she left her home and went to a police station following a fight with her ex-husband. On 7 February, prosecutors asked judges to sentence her to nine years of prison and to impose a five year ban on her managing online publications.