The Russian security service the FSB has filed “criminal charges” against a British reporter Nick Paton Walsh who works for CNN after he “illegally” crossed over into Russia’s Kursk region.
Paton Walsh with two Ukrainian reporters crossed the Russian border and entered into the Kursk region to report the incursion by Ukrainian forces.
A spokesman for the FSB said that “Criminal charges have been filed, and investigations are underway,” as Paton Walsh has now filed several reports from Russia’s Kursk region.
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The two Ukrainian journalists Olesia Borovyk and Diana Butsko are also charged with “illegally crossing the state border of Russia” the FSB has confirmed
The penalty is five years in jail and all three journalists will be places on the international wanted list.
Charges are also being bought against two Italian journalists who entered the Russian town of Sudzha in the Kursk region shortly after it was captured by Ukrainian forces.
“It’s very surreal to be inside Russia with Ukrainian forces leading the way.”@npwcnn gained some of the first access to Ukrainian-held Russia, witnessing their control over the town of Sudzha and the intensity of the fight. pic.twitter.com/gjkBaJQEcR
— CNN International PR (@cnnipr) August 16, 2024
The Italian ambassador to Russia was summoned to Moscow over their illegal entry into the Russian territory.
Last Friday the Russian Foreign Ministry has summoned the senior US diplomat Stephania Holmes as Paton Walsh “illegally entered the Kursk region” in Russia.
Russian state news outlet Tass reported the Ministry wrote on Telegram, “The US Charge d’Affaires to Russia Holmes was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry on August 20 and was issued a strong protest in connection with the provocative actions of American reporters, who illegally entered the Kursk Region for propaganda coverage of the Kiev regime’s crimes, as well as the emerging evidence of the participation of an American PMC on the side of Ukrainian forces during their invasion of the territory of the Russian Federation.”
The statement continued, “It was underscored that such actions, which run counter to the assertions of [US President] Joe Biden’s administration that it allegedly has nothing to do with the attack on Russia by Ukrainian neo-Nazis, clearly prove the involvement of the US, as a direct participant in the conflict, in [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky’s malicious conspiracies.”
