On 9 November 2022, the Russian Ministry of Interior placed the editor-in-chief of Republic.ru on its ‘wanted list’. Dmitry Kolezev leads the popular independent analytical news portal since June 2021.

According to Russian media, authorities had opened a criminal case against Kolezev in April after he shared a post on Instagram, in which he wrote that Russian soldiers were responsible for the massacres of civilians in Bucha near Kyiv. Russian legislation qualifies such publications as “fake news” aiming to “discredit” the Russian army. If convicted, Kolezev could face up to 10 years in prison.

Republic.ru was blocked in Russsia soon after the country’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, when additional restrictions on press freedom were adopted. Kolezev also left Russia at this time.