Press Release, 17.06.2026

Photo by Daria Kornilova

On 17 June, at a hearing of the Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow, Yabloko Deputy Chairman Maxim Kruglov answered questions from the defence and the prosecution, after which the parties presented their closing arguments. The state prosecution declared that Kruglov’s guilt had been proved and requested that he be sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment.

Answering questions from the defence, Maxim Kruglov quoted his own words on his attitude to the special military operation, spoken during his first night-time interrogation:

“Combat operations are a tragedy; the loss of life must be stopped. This is a great sorrow. A ceasefire agreement must be concluded as soon as possible.”

Yabloko’s Deputy Chairman stands accused of spreading “fake news” about the army in connection with two posts on his Telegram channel and one on VKontakte.

Kruglov recounted that, during his time as a deputy of the Moscow City Duma, many Russian servicemen had come to his constituency surgeries, and he had always helped them, writing appeals and formal requests on their behalf: “We always had a respectful, constructive dialogue”. Among the materials attached to the case file is a character reference from a serviceman who had spent eight months as a prisoner of war in Ukraine.

Maxim Kruglov also acknowledged that he could not understand where the prosecution had found motives of political hatred and hatred towards different social groups. He cited the views of his former colleagues in the Moscow City Duma — Magomed Yandiev of the A Just Russia faction and Yelena Shuvalova of the Communist Party faction — who described him as a person who always sought common ground for dialogue, points of contact, and who had always tried to resolve problems without unnecessary conflict or inflamed tensions.

“It has always been important to me to avoid conflict, to try to disagree in a civilised manner, without resorting to personal attacks or the language of hatred. That is my way of working,” Kruglov stated.

According to the Yabloko Deputy Chairman, in his work he had been guided by Russian legislation, by the party’s principles, and by love for his country, wishing it to be peaceful, prosperous, and flourishing.

Kruglov also drew attention to the fact that, according to the prosecution’s opinion, his criminal intent had arisen two years before the relevant article appeared in the Criminal Code. “Why not 2015, then? Why not 2003, when I joined Yabloko?” the politician asked during the closing arguments.

Maxim Kruglov emphasised that, as a responsible person, he had always tried to cite trustworthy sources:

“If I published something emotional — and politics is an emotional sphere, after all — I tried not to make categorical assertions and to formulate everything as thoughtfully as possible.”

Defence lawyer Natalia Tikhonova noted, for her part, that Kruglov had made the posts he is charged over before the Ministry of Defence had published its rebuttal, and that he could therefore not have known the official position. Tikhonova recalled that the only statement of fact in Kruglov’s posts was UN data on the number of civilian deaths in Ukraine.

In response to the prosecutor’s request for an eight-year custodial sentence for Maxim Kruglov, the lawyer drew attention to the positive character references, which take up almost a third of his criminal case file. Tikhonova declared that the outcome of the proceedings could only be one thing: acquittal.

Kruglov himself recalled the conclusions of the prosecution’s own experts, who had studied his posts and written nothing in their report regarding motives of political hatred. The prosecution’s witnesses, likewise, had said nothing about any political hatred on the part of the Yabloko Deputy Chairman when testifying in court.

The trial will continue on 24 June. Maxim Kruglov will deliver his final statement, after which the court is to pronounce its verdict.