Ukraine issues new war crimes charges for top Russian propagandist Skabeyeva

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) gathered new evidence against Russian propagandist on state TV Olga Skabeyeva, filing multiple criminal charges for her role in promoting and justifying Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

She remains in Russia as Ukrainian authorities say “comprehensive measures are ongoing” to bring her to justice, though they did not specify what these measures entail.

The case against Skabeyeva is part of a broader initiative by Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence and Center for Countering Disinformation to track prominent Russian media figures.

Meanwhile, Russia allocated $1.42 billion for state propaganda in its 2025 budget, and approximately $500 million is channeled annually through unofficial entities.

In 2024, Ukraine added a “Kremlin Mouthpieces” section to its War & Sanctions portal, where Skabeyeva appears alongside other high-profile Russian media personalities, including Margarita Simonyan, Vladimir Solovyov, and Alexander Dugin.

“Russian propaganda supports violence, glorifies Russian armed forces, justifies aggression and war crimes, uses dehumanization and hatred toward Ukraine as fuel for war, and challenges Ukraine’s ability to continue fighting,” wrote Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence.

Ukrainian authorities claim that identifying Russian propagandists enables international action through sanctions, travel restrictions, financial freezes, and termination of professional relationships. 

Investigators documented instances where Skabeyeva repeatedly called for the capture of major Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.

The SBU notes that Skabeyeva encouraged Russian forces to target civilian energy infrastructure to cut electricity to entire regions, especially during the cold season.

Skabeyeva regularly promotes these narratives on the program “60 Minutes,” which airs on the state-controlled Russia-1 television channel, one of the country’s most influential media outlets.

The SBU charged Skabeyeva in absentia under four articles of the Ukrainian Criminal Code, including encroachment on Ukraine’s territorial integrity resulting in deaths, justifying Russian armed aggression through mass media, actions aimed at the violent overthrow of constitutional order, and propaganda of war.

Russian propagandist brought to justice

The SBU has recently filed similar charges against other Russian media figures, including singer Shaman and actor Ivan Okhlobistin.

Ukraine charged another famous Russian propagandist, Vladimir Solovyov, with inciting genocide due to his calls for nuclear strikes and attacks on Ukrainian civilians. 

In April, Ukrainian and Polish authorities collaborated to arrest and extradite to Ukraine a Russian propagandist who appeared 35 times on Solovyov’s talk show in 2023, spreading disinformation about the situation in Ukraine. 

Kirill Molchanov is accused of organizing anti-Ukrainian protests across European Union countries and justifying Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on television programs.

Molchanov allegedly worked for both the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR). 

Following his extradition, Molchanov was placed in a Kyiv pre-trial detention center. If convicted, he faces up to 12 years in prison.