Russia has announced a search for Ukrainian and foreign journalists for covering events in the Kursk region

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia has announced a wanted list of seven journalists who worked on reports from the Kursk region during the operations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Among them are three Ukrainian correspondents and four foreign media persons.

As reported by the Russian state agency “RIA Novosti” and the opposition publication “Mediazon”, the following are wanted:

• Natalya Nagorna, host of the TV channel “1+1”;
• Diana Butsko, hromadske journalist;
• Lesya Borovyk, correspondent of “We Ukraine”;
• Nick Peyton Walsh, CNN correspondent;
• Stefani Battistini and Simon Traini, journalists from the Italian public broadcaster RAI;
• Nicholas Simon Connolly, journalist of the German publication Deutsche Welle.

The Russian authorities opened criminal cases against all these media persons for illegally crossing the border of the Russian Federation.

Reaction of journalists to criminal cases

After Russia’s Federal Security Service announced the opening of a case against Italian journalists, Italy’s public broadcaster RAI decided to recall its correspondents back to the country, citing the need to ensure their personal safety.

The American TV channel CNN also made a statement in which it emphasized that the trip of journalist Nick Peyton Walsh to Suja did not violate any norms of international law. All reports by the CNN team were based solely on facts and were unbiased, presenting the views of both the Russian and Ukrainian sides.

In a comment for Detektor Media, Ukrainian journalist Natalya Nagorna noted that she does not pay attention to Russia’s actions towards her, adding that the only news from the Russian Federation that interests her will be the capitulation of the regime and the death of Vladimir Putin.

Correspondent Lesya Borovyk reported that after opening a criminal case against her, lawyers advised her to avoid traveling to countries that maintain close relations with Russia.

Diana Butsko, commenting on the situation, emphasized that hromadske journalists always adhere to journalistic ethics in their work and will continue to cover the events of the war honestly. “The truth cannot be stopped. Its borders do not end anywhere”, she concluded.