Apologies for the video about the attack have become an informal measure of punishment for the residents of Volgograd.

Coercion of the authors of the video about the attack on the Volgograd plant "Titan-Barricades" to apologize is an unofficial punishment aimed at manipulating public opinion. The ban on filming the attacks has no practical meaning, but the authors of the video risk being accused of treason, experts told "Caucasian Knot."

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", at least three people were detained after their recordings of the missile attack on Volgograd were posted online. In a conversation with law enforcement, which was published by local media, the detainees apologized.

The practice of public apologies in the Volgograd region is "rare but is starting to gain popularity in the work of investigative bodies," journalist Vyacheslav Lemkus told a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot."

“Everyone remembers how the participants of the notorious "naked party of Ivleeva" in 2023 repented. Then public apologies from various hooligans, disgraced public figures, and politicians rolled across the country. In the Volgograd region, public apologies for their employees were made by the management of the regional television after one of the "New Year's indecent" corporate parties was made public. Last year, teenagers who staged a shooting near a supermarket in Volgograd publicly apologized,” he cited examples.

According to Lemkus, the practice of public apologies is still not widespread in the Volgograd region. The journalist believes that investigative bodies in the region resort to such "manipulations of public consciousness" only in extreme cases.

“I think the fight against unauthorized video recordings of drone attacks in Volgograd falls into such cases. With these video confessions, the authorities are trying to combat the passionate desire of citizens to gain attention. This is both an act of intimidation and a warning, as well as an opportunity to mitigate administrative or criminal punishment through sincere repentance. However, in my deep conviction, such measures are pointless. People will continue to film forbidden events as they have been doing,” the journalist believes.

Authorities and investigative bodies try not to publicize such cases, noted Volgograd resident, historian Andrei Kudинов.

“Apparently, they do not want to engage in discussions with the public and the remaining human rights defenders in some places regarding the legality of such bans (on recording and disseminating information about drone and missile attacks). If trials on such cases do take place, they are in closed sessions. The dissemination of public apologies has, so to speak, a private educational character,” he noted.

Nikolai Belikov, a reserve officer and specialist in aviation weapons, noted that any video recordings or digital photo documentation have geotags - metadata that contains information about the filming location, usually in the form of GPS coordinates. If the tags are not removed, the filming location can be determined. Also, according to the specialist, video verification is possible - an artificial intelligence system can determine the filming location based on some landscape.

“But the locations of Russian factories have long been known because the armed forces of Ukraine cooperate with American and European intelligence. They rely on a powerful and technically advanced satellite constellation with very high resolution. All military facilities in Russia have long been known to the intelligence services of both Ukraine and NATO countries,” Belikov told a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot."

Belikov also doubted the danger of filming air defense objects: according to him, mobile equipment is used in the vicinity of factories, which easily changes its location. In his opinion, "all this hysteria about video and photo documentation of drone and missile arrivals" is primarily an attempt to "hide their failures in the rear and at the front."

“The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reports how drones are shot down, but does not mention hits. They start to panic when ordinary citizens spread such video recordings online,” concluded Nikolai Belikov.

Lawyer Sergey Ivashchenko reminded that on February 5, 2025, the governor of the Volgograd region issued decree No. 49 prohibiting the dissemination of information and photo-video footage about drone arrivals, crash sites of drones, and air defense operations. According to the lawyer, the administrative punishment for offending citizens provided in the decree is minimal: a fine of one to three thousand rubles.

“Here one could discuss the legality of the issuance of such a decree. It, for example, directly contradicts the constitutional rights of citizens to produce and disseminate information. Let us not forget about the ban on censorship (Article 29 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation). I would also remind you that martial law has not been declared in the country. Therefore, the authorities have no legal grounds to cancel the freedoms of citizens enshrined in the Constitution,” said Sergey Ivashchenko.

He noted that regional authorities rarely use the measures established by the governor's decree.

“I have not heard of a single fined unfortunate observer so far. Perhaps this is related to the fact that since 2024, court hearings on cases related to the special military operation are held in closed sessions. Information does not reach the media. There is a deathly silence. If the violators of the governor's decree insist on their innocence, there is a terrible lever of pressure on them - this act can easily be requalified under the criminal article (Article 275 of the Criminal Code) for treason. And there, the punishment is from 12 to 20 years in prison,” noted Sergey Ivashchenko.