A court in Russias Far East has handed down the countrys firstguilty verdict for spreading fake news on Moscows war in Ukraine.Authorities in the Zabaikalsky region accused local resident Pyotr Mylnikov of falsifying unspecified Russian Defense Ministry documents, as well as posting knowingly false videos in a social media chat he moderated in March.Mylnikov, who ran a group called I Live in Ruins on Russias popular social media site VK, reportedlypleaded guilty to the charges.Officials did not specify what the clips contained, but Russias Federal Security Service (FSB)told local media that Mylnikov wanted to form a negative attitude toward the Russian army taking part in the special operation the Kremlins preferred term for its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.Zabaikalskys Olovyaninsky District Court Monday issued a fine of 1 million rubles ($16,280), but stopped short of imposing the maximum sentence of three years imprisonment spelled out in Russias Criminal Code.Mylnikov was charged with a section of the law relating to the public dissemination of deliberately false information about the use of the Russian armed forces.Harsher 10-year prison sentences can be handed down if a court finds that war fakes have been spread out of hatred or through abuse of power, while15-year prison sentences can be used if they cause serious consequences.Russian authorities have opened at least53 criminal cases into the dissemination of fake news about the Russian army since March.