Russian TV journalist and Kremlin critic Alexander Nevzorov has been granted Ukrainian citizenship for “outstanding service to the country,” a Ukrainian official said Friday.
Russian authorities sentenced Nevzorov to arrest in absentia in May after he criticized Russia's March 9 shelling of a Mariupol maternity hospital on social media. A Moscow court said his posts contained "deliberately false" information about Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky granted citizenship to Nevzorov and his wife Lydia, Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s Interior Minister, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
“Thank you Alexander and Lydia for your courage and honesty. For a sincere desire to put an end to the war and an honest assessment of the actual situation,” Gerashchenko wrote.
Nevzorov, who has fled Russia, said that he is grateful to the people of Ukraine who allowed him “to take my place among them.”
Ukrainian law normally requires foreigners to renounce any other nationalities before becoming Ukrainian citizenship.
Moscow has dismissed the Mariupol hospital attack as being staged by Kyiv and also justified its actions by claiming the hospital was being used by extremist Ukrainian forces and that all civilians had long been gone.
Nevzorov, a former MP who has worked with independent media outlets, is one of the most prominent figures to be probed under new legislation that criminalizes “fakes” about the Russian army.
Since March, Russian authorities have opened at least 53 criminal cases into the dissemination of “fake news.”
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
