A Russian father, who had fled to avoid being sent to a penal colony after his daughter drew an anti-war picture related to the Ukrainian conflict at school, faced criticism from the Kremlin on Wednesday, but received support from the head of the private Russian military group Wagner. The case of Alexei Moskaluov, who was investigated by police last year regarding the anti-war drawing created by his daughter Masha, has resonated widely across Russia and beyond since the father was placed under house arrest this month and his daughter was transferred to an orphanage.
A new development emerged on Tuesday when Moskaluov disappeared from his home overnight, just hours before being sentenced to two years in prison for defaming the Russian armed forces. The situation intensified with the release of a letter from Masha, now 13 years old, to her father, urging him not to give up and encouraging him to "have faith, love, and hope."
In response to a reporter's question, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov pointed out that Moskaluov was a bad father and expressed regret over what he called the "extremely unfortunate situation regarding parental duties." He declined to comment on the unexpected intervention by Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, who described the ruling against Moskaluov as "unfair, especially given that his daughter Masha will have to live in an orphanage." Prigozhin called for the prosecutor's office to review the verdict and requested that Wagner's lawyers be allowed to assist in Moskaluov's defense.
