Russia has opened a criminal investigation against Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) correspondent Michael Martens over a question he put to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a press conference in Belgrade (Serbia) on 8 August, Meduza reported, citing the Russian state-affiliated news outlet TASS.
The case is filed under Part 2, Article 282 of the Russian Criminal Code (public incitement of hatred or enmity). The maximum penalty under this article is six years in prison.
During a joint press conference by Volodymyr Zelensky and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Martens asked, “Can you tell us Europeans what can we concretely do to help you kill more Russians? More Russian soldiers, of course.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova and the Russian embassy in Germany stated that such remarks were unacceptable.
Martens later explained on X that his question was a nod to a WW2-era Winston Churchill quote regarding support for Yugoslav partisans. This likely refered to a phrase along the lines of “Who is killing the most Germans, and how can we help them kill more?”
In his article, the journalist also mentioned another question he had asked during the press conference: whether Ukraine had already discussed defence cooperation and joint drone production with Serbia. According to Martens, Vučić replied, “We haven’t discussed any military cooperation today, or right now.”
As IMI has reported, in July 2026 a Russian court sentenced, in absentia, journalist and columnist Arkadiy Babchenko to a year and a half in a low-security prison on accusations of non-compliance with legislation on so-called “foreign agents.” The verdict was handed down on 17 July.