In Germany, pro-Kremlin activists collected money for equipment for Russian army, - Reuters
A group of pro-Russian activists in Germany collected money to buy walkie-talkies, telephones and headphones for the Russian occupiers in Ukraine.
This is reported by the Reuters agency, Censor.NET informs.
The central place in the group was occupied by the married couple - Olena Kolbasnikova and Max Schlund. At the end of last year, they handed over the sum of 500 euros to the Russian officer Dmytro Tkachev. The couple knew that the money would go to telecommunications equipment for the Russian military. At the same time, EU sanctions limit the supply of such equipment to the occupiers.
Reuters claims Kolbasnikova and Schlund have covert ties to the Russian state, sanctioned Russians or the far right. At the same time, they promote a pro-Moscow position in Germany.
Yes, they received tickets from the Berlin branch of the Russian state agency for the promotion of culture "Rossotrudnichestvo" to travel to Moscow for a conference at which Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke. The Berlin prosecutor's office then said it was investigating the agency's Berlin office.
In a message sent to supporters in a private WhatsApp group in October, Kolbasnikova wrote: "We have transferred 500 euros to the 42nd motorized rifle division of the Russian Federation for the purchase of radio stations, headphones and radio telephones."
"We talked to them in Donetsk. They are on the front lines. My husband served with one of them," she wrote in capital letters under a dozen red exclamation marks.
The EU regulation of February 25, 2022 prohibits the supply or financing of the purchase of certain goods for the Russian military. The list of banned goods includes "radio equipment (such as transmitters, receivers and transceivers)".
Under German law, the criminal penalty for violating sanctions is up to five years in prison.
The Office for the Protection of the Constitution of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Schlund and Kolbasnikova live, confirmed that the group, which includes the couple, is trying to promote Moscow's official narrative regarding its aggression against Ukraine.
Schlund, who studied at a Russian military academy, moved to Germany in 2012. Later, he started dating Kolbasnikova, who comes from Ukraine and worked as a nurse in Germany.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the couple organized protests in Cologne, calling on the German government to stop arming Ukraine and make peace with Moscow.
