Russia upholds Yabloko party's election ban and jails its deputy chair

The Russian Supreme Court has upheld a decision to exclude the liberal Yabloko party from the upcoming September legislative elections. The ruling effectively removes the only political party explicitly campaigning against the war in Ukraine from the national ballot. The court's decision was accompanied by the detention of dozens of party supporters who had gathered outside the building to protest the exclusion.

Concurrent with the party's removal, a court in Pskov sentenced Yabloko deputy chair Lev Shlosberg to over 11 years in a penal colony. The conviction was based on his public calls for a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. These developments occur as part of a broader intensification of state actions against political opposition within Russia.