Russian court drops case against senior citizen fined for firing his shotgun at Ukrainian drones over his yard

Filed 6d ago · Via Meduza · The Buffoon Desk

THIS STORY IS SCORED

Merry Go Slower

Kevin MacLeod · incompetech.com · CC BY 4.0

Photo: European Parliament · CC BY 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

The Volgograd Regional Court dismissed the case against Nikolai Mukhin, a pensioner fined 40,000 rubles for firing his hunting shotgun at Ukrainian drones over his own yard, and ordered his confiscated weapon returned. He had called police after the incident, who rewarded his initiative by citing him for discharging a firearm outside a designated shooting area.

A justice of the peace in Yelan upheld the fine and confiscation in July 2026, and an appeals court agreed, before the regional court finally sided with Mukhin under a provision covering actions taken out of urgent necessity. Kursk region Governor Alexander Khinshtein had publicly defended him, arguing federal weapons law permits citizens to defend life, health and property in emergencies.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.

✒ FROM THE EDITORIAL DESK

A man tries to defend his yard from incoming drones with a shotgun, calls the authorities to report it, and gets fined for his trouble — bureaucracy finding a way to punish initiative even mid-war. It took a governor's intervention and two courts to conclude that shooting at things falling from the sky is not, in fact, a firearms violation.

Source: Read the original at Meduza → Scored: Merry Go Slower · Kevin MacLeod · CC BY 4.0

Read it scored.

Every story, every clown, every kazoo — in your pocket. Music plays automatically. Regret is optional.

GET IT ON iOS GET IT ON ANDROID