Russia opens criminal case against CNN, Hromadske reporters over war coverage in Kursk region

Russia’s FSB domestic security agency initiated a criminal case targeting in absentia a CNN journalist and Ukrainian correspondents from the Hromadske outlet who filmed reports in the Sudzha district of Kursk region amid the raid by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

They are being charged with the illegal border crossing, Ukrinform reports with reference to RFE/RL.

The FSB says foreign reporters face up to five years in prison.

The suspects are CNN journalist Nick Paton Walsh and Hromadske correspondents Olesia Borovyk and Diana Butsko. The journalists will be put on an international wanted list, the FSB says.

Nick Walsh visited the Russian checkpoint in Kursk region, controlled by the Ukrainian military, while Borovyk and Butsko reported from Sudzha.

Earlier, the FSB charged Italian journalists Simoni Traini and Stefani Battistini, who also reported from Sudzha. Later, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs handed a note of protest to the Italian ambassador in relation to these events.

MFA Russia’s spokesperson Maria Zakharova said law enforcers are looking into the coverage by The Washington Post journalists from Sudzha. The crew visited the town on August 17, accompanied by servicemen of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Ukraine’s Defense Forces launched a raid into Russia’s Kursk region on August 6, 2024. On August 15, a military commandant's office was established in territories of Kursk region seized by Ukraine. Major General Eduard Moskalyov was appointed its chief.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine's operation in Kursk region contributes to the destruction of Russia’s military supply routes and depletion of their reserves.