Russia's war on Ukraine is firing up old fears of the 'enemy within'

Policemen arresting a protester during clashes following a demonstration at Pushkin square in Moscow. Photos: Celestino Arce Lavin/ZUMA Wire/dpa

Alexei and Oksana Vesselov are some of the first Russians to be found guilty of "discrediting" their own army, under a new law.

Back in March 2022, they were sitting in the dining room of a health sanatorium in the southern Russian region of Kabardino-Balkaria, talking about their relatives.