February 28, 2026

Lawyer Convicted for Bucha Massacre Comments


Lawyer Convicted for Bucha Massacre Comments
Lawyer Nikolai Polozov. SOTAvision, Telegram.

On February 20, a lawyer notorious for representing opposition figures and Ukrainian prisoners of war was sentenced in absentia to eight and a half years in prison. The attorney was convicted of distributing "fake" news in an interview where he condemned the Russian military's civilian executions during the Bucha massacre of 2022.

Nikolai Polozov made a name for himself by representing President Putin's critics, including Alexey Navalny and Sergey Udaltsov, Ukrainian politician Nadezhda Sabchenko, and Crimean-Tatar activists in Russian courts. In 2018, the attorney defended a marine arrested on a Ukrainian navy ship attempting to cross the Kerch Strait. In 2022, Polozov launched "Poshuk. Polon" (Search. Captivity), a project that helps find Ukrainians captured by Russia and offers them legal assistance.

Polozov gave an interview on the YouTube show Utro Febralya (February's Morning), where he condemned the Russian military's actions during the Bucha massacre. In July 2025, authorities opened a criminal case against him for "discrediting" and distributing "fake" news about the Russian army. However, Polozov faced harassment from the courts even before his conviction. In December 2024, he was declared a "foreign agent." In January 2025, a Moscow court fined him over anti-war comments. In June 2025, he was fined for failing to add a "foreign agent" disclaimer on a Telegram post. On July 4, a few days before a criminal investigation was opened against Polozov, law enforcement placed him on a wanted list.

Polozov has been in exile since 2022.

 

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