Volgograd Region farmer Nikolai Mukhin has had a 40,000-ruble fine overturned after shooting at a drone flying over his house with a hunting rifle.
Prosecutors in southwestern Russia's Volgograd Region confirmed that administrative charges against the pensioner were completely dropped after ruling that he acted in a state of extreme necessity.
Mukhin woke up during the night to the sound of drones humming above his private property. Wanting to protect himself and his neighbours, he took his hunting rifle outside and fired several shots at a passing unmanned aerial vehicle in an attempt to bring it down.
The farmer failed to hit the aircraft because it was flying at a high altitude. Local authorities subsequently charged him under Part 2 of Article 20.13 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offences, which bans discharging firearms inside populated areas, and imposed a 40,000-ruble fine.
Overturning the fine
Mukhin launched an appeal against the penalty. According to court documents cited by state news agency TASS, prosecutors determined that the pensioner caused less potential harm to the state by firing his weapon than he sought to prevent by intercepting the drone.
Defense lawyer Alexander Guguchkin confirmed that the administrative case against Mukhin was dismissed entirely. Guguchkin stated that all of his client's rights would be restored and that the Volgograd Regional Court ordered local authorities to return the seized hunting rifle to the farmer.
Explaining his actions, Mukhin said he loved Russia and protected his country as best he could. Court officials noted that attempting to shoot down a drone posed potential dangers to local villagers because falling wreckage could hit residential buildings.
Mukhin countered that the area beyond his home consisted of a forest and a nearby river with no residential housing. He asked whether it would have been better for the drone to reach its intended target instead.
Media and political support
The legal battle attracted high-profile support across Russian media and regional government. Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of state media network RT and the Rossiya Segodnya media group, initially offered to pay the farmer's 40,000-ruble fine out of her own pocket.
Simonyan said Russia lacked clear legal guidelines for citizens confronting drone overflights and argued that new regulations needed to be drafted. She later praised the prosecutor's decision to contest the fine, calling the outcome great news.
Alexander Khinshtein, governor of the western border region of Kursk, welcomed the court ruling as a triumph of justice. Khinshtein said he was sincerely glad the court resolved the matter fairly, noting that individuals taking action against incoming drones should be praised rather than punished.
Khinshtein had previously extended an invitation to Mukhin to travel to Kursk Region and join BARS-Kursk, a regional volunteer defense brigade formed to protect border communities against cross-border drone attacks. The governor added that motivated individuals like Mukhin were urgently needed in the border zone.
