The Institute of Applied Astronomy commented on the situation with the Ukrainian chevron

Woman detained in transport called valuable employee

A case of administrative offense was opened by law enforcement agencies in St. Petersburg against an employee of the Institute of Applied Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who was traveling in the subway with a chevron in the form of the flag of Ukraine on her backpack. TASS reports this.

According to the explanation given by a metro passenger, on Tuesday, January 23, on the platform of the Vladimirskaya metro station, he saw a Ukrainian flag on a woman’s backpack. On this occasion, a conversation ensued between them, as a result of which the man turned to the police officers in the metro. The woman was detained and taken to the police department of the Central District of the city. Administrative proceedings have been initiated against her under Article 20.3.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (public calls for actions aimed at violating the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation). However, after questioning, the detainee was released on an undertaking to appear.

The lady turned out to be a researcher at the Institute of Applied Astronomy. As her colleagues explained to MK, she is an astronomer and is considered a valuable employee. “I know for sure that at our institute there are no people who oppose Russia,” one of her colleagues told us. “I don’t know the details of what happened in the metro… I think that the presence of a flag of a foreign state on a backpack is not yet a reason for arrest.”