Moscow State University Expels Ukrainian Student for Anti-War Posts

A Ukrainian student who has been arrested multiple times in Russia for anti-war social media posts has been expelled from Moscow State University, the state news agency RIA Novosti reported Tuesday.

Since early April, bachelor’s student Serhiy Hulko has been detained three consecutive times on a series of misdemeanor charges, including for the public display of “extremist” symbols after he wrote “Slava Ukraini!” on the Russian social network Vkontakte.

A Moscow court ruled on April 26 to deport Hulko and arrested him again for 12 days over an Instagram post where he called for the “bombardment of Moscow” in response to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

“[Russian troops] bombed my city, they bombed my country, and people close to me have died as a result,” Hulko told the independent broadcaster Sotavision.

The bachelor’s student said he believes one of his acquaintances made screenshots of his social media posts and sent them to the authorities. 

Moscow State University’s Faculty of Medicine told RIA Novosti that Hulko had been expelled over the “revealed offenses and administrative penalties.”

“The faculty had no complaints about S.V. Hulko’s academic performance,” the faculty’s press service said, adding that it was “unaware whether he has publicly demonstrated his political and ideological beliefs within the university walls.”

The independent news website Mediazona reported that Hulko was placed in a detention center for migrants awaiting deportation.

Hulko’s girlfriend told Mediazona last week that he thinks he might be deported to Georgia.