The well known blogger Nikolai Nekoglai Lebedev, who faced expulsion from Russia and later appeared on a wanted list, met with Ukrainian host Dmitry Gordon in Ukraine. Nekoglai shared footage of the meeting on TikTok. The clip was recorded on the day Nekoglai landed in Kyiv, a day that included a donation of five drones and a car to the Ukrainian armed forces. Gordon used his social channels to announce that he would air an interview with the blogger.
Earlier in January, Nekoglai had promised to allocate one hundred thousand dollars for unmanned aerial vehicle purchases for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and to deliver them personally. He subsequently appeared on the wanted list in mid February for reasons that were not publicly specified at the time.
In early November 2022, Nekoglai posted a video depicting the blogger reacting to a Russian soldier who threw grenades released from a drone at a distance. The soundtrack for the video reused the cover of Boney M. song Rasputin, which drew attention from observers.
Ekaterina Mizulina, the daughter of Senator Elena Mizulina and head of the Safe Internet League, highlighted the blogger’s video. According to her, the organization planned to refer the footage to the Prosecutor General and the Ministry of Internal Affairs because the clip could be seen as undermining the Russian Armed Forces.
Subsequently the Presnensky Court ruled that Nekoglai violated immigration rules. Moldovan-born Nekoglai was expelled from Russia on November 24. Reports at the time described a harsh interaction with law enforcement before the departure, including claims of a forceful search and the blogger being made to apologize for the parody during the arrest process. The statements surrounding these events were contested by multiple parties and observers. [citation]