A 16-year-old Crimean resident tells German Putin propagandist Alina Lipp that he is pro-Ukraine. After that, a public manhunt begins for him.
A careless phrase in passing brought significant trouble to a youth in the Crimea. In an interview with the German Putin propagandist Alina Lipp, the 16-year-old gave an answer that visibly surprised her: he was pro-Ukraine.
Lipp, who mainly spreads Russian propaganda on Telegram channels, had asked people in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, if they were worried about a Ukrainian offensive. The key message of her post was that Crimeans would laugh at the announcements made by Ukrainian President and alleged “clown” Volodomir Zelensky.
However, the young man, who was strolling along a waterfront promenade with a friend, responded as he walked on with an expression of sympathy for Ukraine. Lipp also showed this scene in her contribution. Although she actually wanted to show with her reporting that support for Russia’s war was overwhelming on the peninsula.
Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin legitimized the alleged possession of Crimea in a referendum hastily called in March 2014. The West, on the other hand, speaks of an annexation – i.e. a violent appropriation that violates international law. Kiev is apparently planning a military liberation of the peninsula.
Apologies also to Vladimir Putin
Shortly after the publication of Lipp’s post, a search for the youth began in Russian channels: pro-Russian bloggers demanded his punishment. Then what Zelensky advisor Mykhailo Podoliak had already prophesied happened. A video appeared, apparently from a police station, in which the young man apologized for his sentence: “I confess my stupidity”. First he wanted to apologize to the citizens of the Russian Federation, then to Russia and to the Russian President. It is unclear whether the young man or his family have to fear further consequences.
The apology video appeared in a kind of wanted portal by the blogger Alexander Talipov, who is well-known in Crimea. Talipov apparently works closely with the Russian authorities, several procedures were initiated shortly after his publications and he received videos of those affected from the police. At 8:35 a.m. he posted the excerpt from Lipp’s interview, and other pro-Russian channels with hundreds of thousands of followers shared the video.
Identified after three hours, excused after seven
After a good three hours, Talipov reported that both young men had been identified and that the “fools” were 16 years old. About four hours later he posted the scene with the apology. Since then, both videos have appeared cut together on social media.
Alina Lipp, who has complained in the Russian media about persecution by German authorities, has not yet commented on the development following its publication. An investigation is under way in Germany against her because she approved of the Russian war of aggression. Read more here.
With the question to the 16-year-old, Lipp got even more on the radar in Ukraine: Wladimir Klitschko, the brother of Kiev’s mayor Vitali, retweeted the demand of the German account @BrennpunktUA to Ukrainian authorities to put Lipp out for a search. She is already on an unofficial wanted list and stated that she was also afraid for her life after attacks on other propagandists.
