Russian law enforcement authorities said Thursday that they have filed criminal charges against a CNN reporter and two Ukrainian journalists for illegally crossing the border into Ukrainian-held territory of the Kursk region during a reporting assignment.
“Criminal charges have been filed, and investigations are underway,” a spokesperson for Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) told the state-run Interfax news agency.
The journalists charged with “illegally crossing the state border of Russia” include CNN reporter Nick Paton Walsh and Ukrainian journalists Olesia Borovyk and Diana Butsko, according to the FSB.
If convicted, the charges carry a penalty of up to five years in prison. The FSB said the journalists would soon be placed on an international wanted list.
Earlier, Russian authorities pressed charges against two Italian journalists from the broadcaster RAI for filming in the Kursk region town of Sudzha. The town was captured shortly after Ukrainian forces launched their surprise incursion on Aug. 6.
Italy’s ambassador to Moscow was summoned over that report. RAI said its journalists would return to Italy for safety reasons after Russian police opened a criminal investigation into their reporting trip.
Likewise, on Tuesday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry summoned a senior U.S. Embassy official in Moscow over what it described as “provocative actions” by American journalists reporting from Ukrainian-held parts of the Kursk region, as well as alleged U.S. mercenary activity on Russian territory.
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