In April 2025, news spread that several minors in the Ukrainian capital had been prosecuted for publicly listening to songs in Russian. They were allegedly reported by a woman passing by. We have verified the accuracy of this story.
Publications about the arrest of teenagers for listening to the music of Russian-speaking performers in the center of Kyiv appeared on April 13. They reported that while the minors were listening to Russian rap, a woman approached them, reprimanded them and asked them to turn off the song. In her opinion, such behavior of the young men several hours after the shelling of Sumy, which resulted in numerous casualties among civilians, was inappropriate. The teenagers did not listen to the woman, which she later allegedly reported to the police. Some resources specify that after refusing to turn off the music, the guys played the Russian anthem at full volume as a sign of protest, and law enforcement agencies, after drawing up protocols, forced them to apologize on camera.
This story was told "Gazeta.ru", "Arguments and facts", "Komsomolskaya Pravda", "Russian newspaper", Life.ru And EADaily, as well as numerous Telegram channels, including Readovka (892,000 views at the time of writing this analysis), “Ne.Sugar"(235,000), "Ukraine.ru"(132,000), "Ostashko! Important"(89,000), "Ukraine without options"(47,000), "Kovpak's detachment"(47,000), etc.
The conflict, during which the woman reprimanded the teenagers and asked them to turn off songs in Russian, was caught on video. It shows several young people standing near a bench, and a Russian-language composition is playing on the speaker. Service Shazam I recognized in it the song “Re-conquer” by the Russian artist Pepel Nahudi. The woman who filmed the video approaches the guys and says in Ukrainian: “Excuse me, could you turn off the Russian music, please?” In response, the teenagers laugh and, despite the objections of some of them, play another song, the first notes of which resemble the Russian anthem. The author's credit indicates that the events unfold on April 13 on Kontraktova Square in the center of Kyiv, and specifies that the video was filmed “six hours after Sumy.” On that day, Russian troops fired at the city of Sumy, at least 35 people were killed as a result of the attacks. Also at the end of the video, the author indicates that another girl approached her, who apologized and promised to monitor the situation. The author posted the post on her social media pages. Currently only available video clip on an Instagram blog, and it's a little different from the viral one. The original entry, according to the author, was published on TikTok, but it was taken down. The video was widely distributed by Ukrainian internet users And Media — the video on Instagram alone now has almost half a million views and more than 3,000 reposts.
The next day, April 14, the Main Directorate of the National Police of Ukraine in Kyiv reportedthat the police identified three participants in the incident - two 17-year-old teenagers and one 20-year-old boy. They explained their behavior by severe alcohol intoxication. The police press release states that law enforcement officers drew attention to the situation while monitoring social networks, that is, the author of the video, apparently, did not write a statement after the events on Kontraktova Square. She also does not confirm this on her social media accounts.
From the press release it is known that the detained young people were brought to administrative responsibility, but not for listening to Russian-language music, but for drinking alcoholic beverages or being intoxicated in public places (Article 178 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offences, Code of Administrative Offences) and for petty hooliganism (Article 173 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). Protocols were also drawn up against the parents of two minor offenders for failure to fulfill their duties in raising children (Article 184 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). It is not specified what sanctions were applied, but Code of Administrative Offenses Ukraine states that for public drinking of alcoholic beverages for the first time, a warning can be issued or a fine in the amount of up to five non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens (a conventional unit used in Ukraine to determine the amount of fines and component 17 UAH). Petty hooliganism (this includes obscene language in public places, offensive behavior and other similar actions that violate public order and peace of citizens) entails a fine of three to seven non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens, community service or administrative arrest for up to 15 days. Judging by the fact that the young men were released, each of them most likely paid a fine of about $5.
On the same day, three videos also appeared on the Internet in which each of the detainees apologized for their behavior to “the entire Ukrainian people.” Rollers spread in Ukrainian Telegram channels and media, which claim to have received them from certain sources.
Listening to songs in Russian did not in itself entail any punishment for young people, although since 2022 in Ukraine, indeed, forbidden public playback of music by performers associated with the aggressor state (which Russia was recognized back in 2015). The law allows you to listen to such songs privately - at home, in the car or through headphones. Violation of this norm will result in a fine. An exception is provided only for songs by those Russian artists who publicly condemned the invasion of Ukraine, submitted an application to the SBU and agreed to the publication of this fact. Such performers can be included in a special white list, but it was not possible to find it in the public domain “Verified”.
Moreover, in Kyiv, as in some others cities, rules in this area it is even stricter. In the Ukrainian capital, from 2023, public playback of any Russian-language songs is prohibited, regardless of the citizenship of the performer or composer. That is, formally, teenagers could have been held accountable for playing the composition they were listening to, but this did not happen.
The fact that the young men were detained precisely because of their musical preferences was the first reported Telegram channel “Kupyansk is ours”. His post was published an hour and a half after a press release from the Ukrainian police, which spoke about protocols for petty hooliganism and drinking alcoholic beverages.
The topic of restrictions on the use of the Russian language in public space in Ukraine has been attracting the attention of pro-Kremlin media and Telegram channels for years. Often (especially before the start of a full-scale invasion) publications about this were based on manipulation or exaggeration. "Verified" sorted it out some such news.
Thus, the news that teenagers in Kyiv were detained for listening to songs in Russian is taken out of context. In fact, reports were drawn up against three young men for petty hooliganism and drinking alcoholic beverages in public places, even though they actually violated the ban on public playback of Russian-language music in force in the Ukrainian capital.
Cover photo: Pixabay
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