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The Russian FSB reported opening a criminal case against CNN journalist Nick Peyton Walsh and a number of Ukrainian correspondents who filmed materials in the Sudzha area of the Kursk region. The case was opened under the article on illegal border crossing.
The special service indicated that the foreign reporters were filming illegally. They face up to five years in prison. In addition to Walsh, the case concerns Hromadske correspondents Olesya Borovik and Diana Butsko. The journalists will be placed on an international wanted list, the FSB Public Relations Center added on Thursday, August 22.
Nick Walsh visited a Russian checkpoint that was under the control of Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region, while Borovik and Butsko entered the city itself, according to the RBC publication, Radio Liberty reports.
Earlier, the FSB announced the initiation of a criminal case against Italian RAI journalists Simoni Traini and Stefani Battistini, who were working in Sudzha. Later, the Russian Foreign Ministry lodged a protest with the Italian ambassador in connection with these events. The agency stated that the journalists violated Russian legislation and “elementary rules of journalistic ethics.” RAI then recalled the journalists to Italy to “guarantee their safety and personal protection.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova also said that law enforcement agencies are investigating the actions of the American newspaper The Washington Post journalists in Sudzha. The journalists of this publication visited the city on August 17, accompanied by Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen.
BAGNET recalls that the Ukrainian Armed Forces entered the territory of Russia's Kursk Region on August 6. Fighting has continued in the region since that day. The Ukrainian Armed Forces claim control over dozens of settlements, including the regional center of Sudzha. Russian authorities either deny such information or do not comment.
Prepared by: Sergey Daga