Russian journalist, Marina Ovsyannikova, is feared missing after gatecrashing her TV network studio. She was detained by authorities for her stunt, but her lawyer has said that Ovsyannikova’s whereabouts are unknown and he’s not been able to contact her. 

Pavel Chikov, the human rights attorney said “Marina Ovsyannikova has not yet been found. She has been imprisoned for more than 12 hours”, and added, “The pre-investigation check does not provide grounds for detention and imprisonment”. 

Ovsyannikova burst into the frame during a live broadcast on Monday, while Channel One anchor Ekaterina Andreeva was reading the news. The now-detained journalist held up a sign, which in a mix of English and Russian said “Stop the war. Don’t believe propaganda. They’re lying to you”. She also chanted “Stop the war! No to war!”, as the anchor tried to get through her segment before the footage of the interruption was paused. 

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The Russian OVD-Info human-rights group also claimed that before her on-air interruption, Ovsyannikova had pre-recorded herself expressing deep shame in being part of the Kremlin’s propaganda. As per OVD-Info, she said, “Only we have the power to stop all this craziness”. 

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Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged Ovsyannikova’s in his nightly address. He said, “I am grateful to those Russians who do not stop trying to convey the truth. To those who fight disinformation and tell the truth, real facts to their friends and loved ones. And personally to the woman who entered the studio of Channel One with a poster against the war”, the US Sun reported. 

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Russia recently passed a law that allows imprisonment of up to 15 years for spreading what it considers to be fake news about the military. This includes categorizing Russian troop movements in Ukraine as ‘war’, reporting on setbacks faced by Russian troops, and civilian deaths in Ukraine.