The Russian security services (FSB) opened an investigation on Saturday, August 17, against two journalists from the Italian channel RAI. They were reporting in the Kursk region, after having crossed the border “illegally” from Ukraine, according to the FSB, Russian news agencies reported.
The FSB “has opened a criminal investigation” against Italian journalists Stefania Battistini and Simone Traini for “illegal border crossing,” the Russian services said in a statement quoted by Russian agencies.
The Italian ambassador to Russia, Cecilia Piccioni, was summoned to Moscow on Friday by Russian diplomacy on this subject. Following her summons, a spokesperson for Italian diplomacy said that the ambassador had defended to the Russian authorities the “independent” work of journalists on the ground in the Russian region of Kursk, where the Ukrainian army has been carrying out an incursion since August 6.
“The (Italian) ambassador was strongly protested by the actions of a film crew from the public radio and television station RAI who entered Russia illegally to cover the criminal terrorist attack by Ukrainian soldiers against the Kursk region,” Russian diplomacy denounced in a statement.
Journalists repatriated to Italy
The report, broadcast this week, was made by two Italian journalists from RAI, Stefania Battistini and Simone Traini, with the Ukrainian army in the Russian city of Sudja, located about ten kilometers from the Ukrainian border and which kyiv claims to have completely conquered. Sudja is home to a major gas hub of the Russian giant Gazprom which still supplies Europe via Ukraine.
The two Italian reporters, who are not in Russia, face up to five years in prison, according to the Penal Code. Stefania Battistini and Simone Traini will be repatriated to Italy “to guarantee their safety,” RAI CEO told Italian news agency Ansa.
Ukrainian forces attacked the Kursk region on August 6, seizing 82 towns and 1,150 square kilometers, according to kyiv, in an unprecedented offensive that surprised the Russian army.