
Unknown individuals have damaged billboards featuring the portraits of participants of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The boards had been installed on Peter I Avenue in Daghestan’s capital Makhachkala.
According to information published on the Telegram channel of Makhachkala Mayor Dzhambulat Salavov, at least four images were damaged. The photographs showed holes and marks, apparently left by a ballpoint pen and crayons. Regional authorities have described the incident as ‘desecration’ and ‘an act of vandalism’. Salavov arrived at the scene and stated that the actions of the unknown individuals could not be regarded as mere hooliganism.
‘This act is not just hooliganism but a deep insult not only to the warriors who gave their lives, but also to their families and to all the residents of the city,’ he said.
Salavov added that the damaged billboards would be replaced in the near future.
Daghestani law enforcement agencies have not commented on Salavov’s claims that the perpetrators were already being sought. Official information about the opening of a criminal or administrative case has not yet been published on the accounts of the Interior Ministry.
The installation of billboards with photographs of participants in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is part of a campaign by regional authorities to commemorate the dead and to demonstrate public support for the invasion. Such boards and banners appeared in Makhachkala and other cities of Daghestan after the launch of the full-scale invasion in 2022 and are regularly updated, displaying portraits of residents of the region who took part in the fighting.
Daghestan is among the Russian regions with the highest losses. According to Mediazona and the BBC, which maintain a name-by-name list of the dead, as of August, 1,642 residents of Daghestan have been confirmed to have been killed in the war in Ukraine.
The republic is actively engaged in commemorating their memory: in addition to billboards, memorial steles are installed, ceremonies are held in schools and educational institutions, and streets and squares are renamed. For example, in 2023 in Makhachkala, on the grounds of School No. 57 named after Aleksei Sukhanov, a square and a monument were opened in honour of a marine battalion commander who was killed in the war.
In June 2025, in the settlement of Dubki in the Kazbekovsky district, a memorial wall was opened to commemorate soldiers killed in the war.
At the same time, cases of damage to objects connected with participants in the fighting in Ukraine are relatively rare. In February 2024, in North Ossetia, a woman from Vladikavkaz was detained after, while intoxicated, desecrating a cemetery where participants in the war were buried. According to investigators, the woman was searching for alcohol and damaged several graves, including those of soldiers killed in Ukraine.
In June 2023, a court in Novocherkassk found neurologist Ivan Churinov guilty of splashing paint on banners with portraits of participants in the war. The court classified his actions as discrediting the army and imposed a fine of ₽800,000 ($10,000).
