The Russian journalist who interrupted a news broadcast on a Russian channel with a sign denouncing the invasion of Ukraine has been accused of being a British spy.
Kirill Kleimyonov, the head of Channel One’s news division, appeared on a broadcast Monday, claiming to have proof that the news channel’s former editor Marina Ovsyannikova was involved with the British Embassy.
“Not long before [the protest], according to our information, Marina Ovsyannikova spoke with the British embassy,” Kleimyonov claimed, according to a transcript from the Times of London. “Who among you has had a telephone conversation with a foreign embassy?”
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Channel One has finally responded to Marina Ovsyannikova’s on-air protest.
Kirill Kleimyonov, head of the news division, accuses her of being a British spy.
He said she has “betrayed [her] country and all of us … coldly, duplicitously, for a bonus.”
— max seddon (@maxseddon) March 21, 2022
Kleimyonov went on to imply that Ovsyannikova is a traitor. “Being emotionally impulsive is one thing, but treason is quite another. And when a person betrays their country … coldly, duplicitously, in return for a bonus …”
He added, “Treason is always someone’s personal choice … But you need to call things what they are.”
Ovsyannikova ran on-screen on March 14, wielding a sign denouncing the war against Ukraine. “Stop the war! Don’t believe propaganda! They’re lying to you here!” the sign read. While some feared that the former Channel One editor had disappeared, she later appeared in court, where she faced fines for her actions.
“It’s Putin’s war, not [the] Russian people’s war,” Ovsyannikova told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos in a Sunday interview. The former reporter said that she attempted to protest the broadcasts in hopes of challenging the current narrative.
EXCLUSIVE: Russian state TV editor, Marina Ovsyannikova, who protested Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the evening news broadcast tells @gstephanopoulos: “The Russian people are really against the war. It’s Putin’s war, not Russian peoples’ war.” https://t.co/TdtedIjD5D pic.twitter.com/Rwi0LoBXtC
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 20, 2022
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“I could show to the Russian people that this is just propaganda, expose this propaganda for what it is and maybe stimulate some people to speak up against the war,” Ovsyannikova said.
