A Russian journalist who interrupted a live news program to protest against the invasion of Ukraine on the country's most popular television channel has disappeared overnight.
The whereabouts of Marina Ovsyannikova are unknown after she broke into the set of Russian state television channel one live .
When news anchor Yekaterina Andreyeva released a note about relations with Belarus, Ovsyannikova, who was wearing a dark formal suit, suddenly appeared, holding a handwritten sign that read “No to war” in English.
Below, the sign read in Russian: “Stop the war. Don't believe in propaganda. Here they are lying to them.” It was signed in English: “Russians Against War”.
The protester managed to say a few phrases in Russian, including “Stop the War!” , while Andreyeva, who has been presenting the news since 1998, tried to drown her by talking louder.
Then, the channel quickly switched to images of a hospital.
The incident was a very unusual security breach on the tightly controlled state-run station Canal Uno. His flagship 9:00 p.m. news program, called “Time”, has been broadcast since the Soviet era and is watched by millions across the country, particularly by older Russians.
Ovsyannikova is being assisted by Pavel Chikov, a human rights lawyer, who posted on Twitter that he was looking for his client.
“Marina Ovsyannikova has not yet been found. She's been incarcerated for more than 12 hours,” she said.
“Pre-investigation control does not provide grounds for arrest and imprisonment.”
Attack from the Kremlin
The Kremlin described Ovsyannikova's protest as “hooliganism” on Tuesday morning.
“As far as this woman is concerned, this is vandalism,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, praising Channel One for what he called its quality, objective and timely programming.
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky celebrated Ovsyannikova's gesture during his evening speech.
“I am grateful to the Russians who keep trying to convey the truth. To those who fight misinformation and tell the truth, the real facts to their friends and loved ones,” Zelensky said.
“And personally to the woman who entered the Canal Uno studio with an anti-war poster.”
Kira Yarmysh, the spokeswoman for imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny, wrote on Twitter: “Wow, that girl is great.”
He posted a video of the incident, which garnered more than 7.5 million views. The hashtag #WhereIsMarinaOvsyannikova is trending on Twitter.
Russians who describe the invasion as war or spread what the Kremlin has described as “false” information face up to 15 years in prison.
According to experts, Ovsyannikova could face charges under the law and between three and 15 years in prison.
Numerous media outlets were shut down after negatively covering the war and many journalists were forced to flee the country.
State television is the main source of news for millions in Russia and follows the Kremlin's line that the country was forced to perform in Ukraine.
OVD-Info, a group that monitors arrests at opposition protests, identified the woman as Marina Ovsyannikova and said she works at Channel One as an editor and was now in a police station.
“Zombified Russian people”
OVD-info published a video where Ovsyannikova says that her father is Ukrainian and her mother is Russian and that she does not see countries as enemies.
“Unfortunately, in recent years I worked on Channel One, doing Kremlin propaganda and now I am very ashamed of this,” she said.
“I am ashamed that I allowed lies to be told from the TV screen. I am ashamed that I allowed the Russians to be zombified,” he added.
“We were silent in 2014 when all this was just beginning,” he said, apparently referring to Moscow's seizure of Crimea and support for pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine.
“We didn't go to the protests when the Kremlin poisoned (Alexei) Navalny. We simply watch this anti-human regime in silence. And now the whole world has moved away from us.”
Russia has blocked or limited popular social media platforms Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, all of which were widely used to make political statements.
A video clip of the incident quickly spread on social media, and many users paid tribute to the “extraordinary courage” of women in a context of strong repression against the opposition.
Since the start of the intervention in Ukraine on February 24, thousands of protesters have been arrested in Russia.
Leonid Volkov, close to Navalny, the opposition leader jailed since last year after surviving poisoning, tweeted that his movement “is willing to pay any fine” imposed on Ovsyannikova.
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