On 3 July 2026, Russia鈥檚 Northern Fleet Military Court journalist Olesya Krivtsova in absentia to six years in a general-regime penal colony on charges of justifying terrorism and 鈥渄iscrediting鈥� the Russian army.
Krivtsova, who works for the Norwegian outlet The Barents Observer, was also banned from administering websites and online channels for three years.
The criminal case against Krivtsova was opened over an Instagram story about an explosion on the Crimean Bridge conducted by Ukrainian forces, as well as a repost on VKontakte about a rally by students of the Northern Arctic Federal University, who allegedly supported a pro-Russia referendum in Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia.
Russian security forces first raided Krivtsova鈥檚 apartment on 26 December 2022, when she was 19 years old, and searched her home. On 28 December 2022, a court imposed restrictions on her, and in January 2023 she was placed under house arrest.
In the same month, Krivtsova was added to Russia鈥檚 list of 鈥渆xtremists鈥�. She left Russia in March 2023. In August 2025, Russia鈥檚 Justice Ministry designated her a 鈥渇oreign agent鈥�.