The police in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug found no evidence of discrediting the army in Governor Natalia Komarova's statement during a meeting with locals, where she expressed that "we were not prepared for this war, and we don't need it." URA.RU reported the results of the investigation on December 22.
Social activist Yuri Ryabtsev filed a complaint against Governor Natalia Komarova's anti-war statement, prompting a linguistic examination that did not reveal any signs of discrediting the army in her words.
In November 2023, during a gathering with Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug residents, Governor Komarova addressed a military wife's concern about conscripted men not receiving backpacks with essential equipment. Her response was, "We built the world in a different manner," and this explains why "inconsistencies happen."
The local government argued that Komarova's words were taken out of context. Officials in the region released a video in support of the governor, and the military invited critics to the front lines.
A similar incident involving Komarova occurred in January 2023, where she discussed contractors failing to meet construction deadlines during a meeting with subordinates. When asked about tightening requirements, she responded, "Wherever we initiate a deep study, we bump into ourselves," emphasizing that "everyone is on the scheme."
The administration of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug labeled the video as an 'information attack.'
Moscow State Duma Deputy Evgeny Stupin of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) urged the prosecutor's office to investigate Komarova's statements for possible violations. The KhMAO prosecutor acknowledged the authenticity of the video, reporting numerous corruption cases in the region but finding no grounds for punishing Komarova.
