A Russian woman was sentenced to 7 years in prison for “an invitation to tea” addressed to the Ukrainian army

A flight attendant from Russia, who promised to “invite the Ukrainian army to tea” if she arrives in Moscow, was sentenced to seven years in prison on Sunday for spreading false information about the Russian armed forces, informs EFE, taken over by Agerpres.

“The court found Varvara Volkova guilty under (…) article 207.3 of the Russian Criminal Code (public dissemination of false information about the Russian armed forces on grounds of political hatred) and sentenced her to seven years in prison,” said the municipal court in Vidnoye, Moscow Region.

Russian justice states that Volkova, a flight attendant at Ural Airlines, would have denigrated a Russian tanker who was fighting in Ukraine over the phone, after he had appeared on television.

Volkova published several messages in a chat of the Sopronovo district (Moscow region), through which she would have spread false information about the Russian army, the judge claims. In one of them, she said that she would invite the Ukrainian army to tea if they conquered the Moscow region.

“She claimed that the Russian armed forces are committing acts of violence with the aim of killing” Ukrainian civilians, the court statement said.

In February, Volkova had already been fined twice for “discrediting” the Russian military and displaying banned symbols, with 31,000 rubles (about $392), the first time for reporting on the deaths of Ukrainians she knew, and the second time for writing the slogan “Glory to Ukraine!” in one of the chats.

The woman lost her job a few months later and was eventually arrested.