In an act of dissent on Monday, 14 March, an anti-war protester interrupted the live news broadcast on TV Channel One, which is a part of Russian state media.
OVD-Info, a human rights organisation that tracks protests and detentions in Russia, has said that the protester has gone missing since the incident.
The organisation put out a tweet, saying, "A pre-investigation check was initiated against Channel One employee Maria Ovsyannikova, who came out with an anti-war poster during the live broadcast of the Vremya program, TASS reports citing its source. Where she is is still unknown."
The protester held up a sign behind the studio presenter, reading "NO WAR. Stop the war. Don't believe the propaganda. They are lying to you here."
Another sentence, "Russians against war," was partly concealed.
The woman was also shouting slogans against the war that Russian President Vladimir Putin is waging on Ukraine.
"Stop the war. No to war," she shouted while the news anchor continued to do her job.
The protester was seen for a few seconds, after which the channel switched stories and she was removed from the screen.
Marina Ovsyannikova Detained, May Face Jail for Up to 15 Years
OVD-Info identified the woman as Marina Ovsyannikova, an editor and producer with the channel.
It also stated that she has been detained.
Before her act of defiance, Ovsyannikova had even recorded a video message in which she had said, "What is going on in Ukraine is a crime."
"What is happening now in Ukraine is a crime, and Russia is the aggressor country. The responsibility for that aggression lies on the conscience of only one man, and that man is Vladimir Putin," she boldly stated in the video.
"We were silent in 2014 when it all started," she added, referring to Russian annexation of Crimea.
Ovsyannikova has been taken to a Moscow police station and she may face charges under the law, passed on 4 March, that makes public actions discrediting the Russian army illegal.
She may face a jail term of up to 15 years.
Ukraine Prez Zelenskyy Thanks Ovsyannikova & Other Anti-War Protesters
In his nightly address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the protester:
"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", Zelenskyy said, as quoted by Reuters.
Russian-state owned media and state TV is the primary news source for millions of Russians, and the propaganda machine of the Kremlin is in full throttle, claiming that Putin's operation in Ukraine is to "denazify" the country.
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