Five members of the feminist protest collective Pussy Riot have been sentenced in absentia to prison terms ranging from eight to 13 years by a Moscow court, according to reports from Rolling Stone and Mediazona. The charges relate to anti-war performances critical of Russia's military actions, including a December 2022 music video titled 'Mama, Don’t Watch TV' and an April 2024 performance in Munich, Germany, where a member urinated on a portrait of President Vladimir Putin.
The five members – Maria Alyokhina, Taso Pletner, Olga Borisova, Diana Burkot and Alina Petrova – rejected the charges as politically motivated. Burkot confirmed the sentences on X, stating she stood by her anti-war stance and that 'Ukraine must win, and Putin must face trial in The Hague.'
Meanwhile, Russian strikes in Ukraine killed two people and injured at least nine others. In Zaporizhzhia, one person died and nine were wounded, including a child, after at least 10 strikes on the city. In the Mykolaiv region, a tractor driver was killed in a targeted attack on a farm, according to local officials.
One of Russia's largest oil refineries, the Kirishinefteorgsintez plant in Kirishi, halted a key processing unit after a Ukrainian drone attack. The unit accounts for nearly 40% of the plant's total processing capacity of about 400,000 barrels per day.
Russia's defence ministry claimed its forces seized the village of Olhivske in Zaporizhzhia region, with a Moscow-appointed official saying about 30 sq km of ground was captured. However, Ukraine's military reported halting a Russian advance near Pokrovsk, and the DeepState military blog reported Ukrainian successes near Dobropillia.
Ukraine's top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, dismissed two senior officers after Ukrainian forces lost territory in areas under their command, according to Ukrainian media reports.
