More Western journalists investigated for Russian border violations – FSB

The Federal Security Service has added three more people to its probe regarding illegal crossings into Kursk Region

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has launched investigations against three more journalists who crossed the border illegally to report from Ukrainian-occupied parts of Kursk Region.

Kathryn Diss and Fletcher Yeung of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation visited the town of Sudzha in Kursk Region in early September. Mircea Barbu, who works for the Romanian news website HotNews, also did so in late August.

The FSB noted that with the addition of three more names, the list of Western media professionals suspected of breaching the border with the backing of the Ukrainian military has reached 12.

Kiev launched its incursion into the Russian region on August 6, seizing some territory but failing to advance deeper. Sudzha was arguably the biggest prize for the thousands of troops deployed for the mission. Kiev organized a number of press tours for foreign outlets to show the town, with their reporting focused on Russian civilians who could not evacuate from the war zone in time.

Journalists from the American network CNN and the government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Germany’s Deutsche Welle (DW), Italy’s RAI, and the Ukrainian TV channel 1+1 are among those being investigated by the Russian authorities.

READ MORE: Russian forces repel latest Ukrainian incursion attempt – MOD

The Russian Foreign Ministry has specifically called out RAI correspondent Ilario Piagnerelli, who interviewed a Ukrainian soldier with a Nazi insignia on his cap during the Italian reporter’s trip to Kursk Region. He later issued an apology, claiming he did not notice the offensive symbol until after the episode aired.