Maria Ponomarenko

Affiliated media: RusNews, Journalist

Incident date: August 15, 2025

Attack type:

• Suicide attempt

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Mediazona

Location: Russia, Altai krai, Rubtsovsk

Additional information:

RusNews journalist Maria Ponomarenko, who is serving a prison sentence, attempted suicide three times between July 30 and August 9, her lawyer said. At Penal Colony No. 9 in Rubtsovsk, she was held in a special isolation ward under what her lawyer described as torture-like conditions, despite suffering from illness. Ponomarenko was sentenced in early 2023 to six years in prison for “spreading fakes” about the army after reporting on the Russian airstrike on the Mariupol drama theatre. In March 2025, her sentence was extended by one year and ten months over allegations that she assaulted a prison officer.