Marina Ovsyannikova: Russian TV journalist fined for anti-war protest on live TV news show

Under new legislation, Ms Ovsyannikova could also face up to 15 years in prison

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A Russian state TV employee who interrupted a live news programme by protesting against the war with Ukraine has been ordered by a court to pay a fine.

Marina Ovsyannikova, an employee of Russia’s state-run Channel One, walked into the studio during Monday’s evening news show with a poster saying “No war” and “Russians against the war”.

In a video recorded before her action, Ms Ovsyannikova said her father was Ukrainian and her mother was Russian.

She said that “Russia is the aggressor country and one person, Vladimir Putin, solely bears responsibility for that aggression” and urged Russians to join anti-war protests.

Ms Ovsyannikova spent the night in police custody and on Tuesday Moscow’s Ostankino District Court ordered her to pay a fine of 30,000 roubles (about $282) on charges of organising unsanctioned actions.

The Investigative Committee, Russia’s top state law agency, is also looking at charges of publicly spreading false information about the Russian military, under new legislation adopted the day after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.

If convicted of that charge, she could face up to 15 years in prison.

Speaking in a video address early on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised Ms Ovsyannikova for her courage.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described her action as “hooliganism” and said that interference with a live broadcast was a serious offence.

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The Russian government has made a sweeping effort to cut independent sources of information about the war.

It has imposed blocks on the BBC Russian service, the US government-funded Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle and Latvia-based website Meduza.

Russia has also blocked Twitter and Facebook and outlawed Instagram as “extremist”.