Since December 2025, Article 13.53 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the russian federation has been in force in the aggressor country of russia - responsibility for searching for "knowingly extremist content". Now the very fact of a request in the browser is enough for a report to appear. This is stated in the message of the Foreign Intelligence Service (FIS) of Ukraine.
"In practice, this is supported by mass checks of phones. When reviewing documents, the police demand to unlock the device, view the gallery, Telegram and browser history. At the border, this is already a familiar procedure, and now - in the subway. Search, subscription or viewing can be interpreted as "interest in extremism" or even "distribution". The found "suspicious content" is used to open a case or put pressure," the intelligence said.
According to intelligence, the formal boundaries of such checks are blurred. An attempt to deny the actions of the security forces may result in violence or new charges.
"In a system where one denunciation carries more weight than evidence, this is enough," the FIS emphasized.
It is noted that since 2010, russian "law enforcement officers" have launched more than 30,000 criminal and administrative cases for publications, reposts and "likes" on social networks. Almost 80% of administrative and 46% of criminal proceedings fall on "Vkontakte" [social network – ed.]. A quarter of criminal cases concern messages on Telegram. The main articles are "extremism" (Articles 280, 282 of the Criminal Code of the russian federation), "discrediting the army" (Articles 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the russian federation and 280.3 of the Criminal Code of the russian federation) and "fakes" about the army (Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the russian federation).
"Anything can be the basis: a repost, a saved picture, a meme or even a "like". They are prosecuted for both publications that are many years old and deleted posts. Often, cases do not begin with monitoring, but with denunciations from colleagues, neighbors or acquaintances with screenshots of private correspondence. Sometimes the reason is a personal conflict, and the accusation is built on the principle of "word against word"," the FIS emphasizes.
Intelligence officers emphasize that even without public statements, a person can be accused of participating in an "extremist community". Subscribing to an "unwanted" channel, participating in a closed chat or forwarding a message is enough.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, according to intelligence, by 2040 russia will turn into a "society of pensioners."
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