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October 03, 2024 – Russia –
Russia has escalated its crackdown on independent war reporting by launching criminal proceedings against several foreign journalists who covered Ukraine’s brief incursion into the Kursk region in August 2024. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has condemned the charges as politically motivated and is urging Russian authorities to drop them immediately.
Among those targeted are Kathryn Diss, Europe bureau chief for Australia’s ABC News, and Italian journalists Stefania Battistini and Simone Traini from RAI. All three were reporting from the Russian border town of Sudzha while embedded with Ukrainian forces during the cross-border operation. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) claims the journalists “illegally crossed” into Russian territory—an offense that carries a prison sentence of up to five years.
The FSB’s action follows a broader pattern. According to media reports, at least 14 foreign journalists—also from CNN, France 24, Deutsche Welle, and Switzerland’s CH Media—are under investigation for similar charges. These journalists were documenting a rare and newsworthy event: Ukrainian forces momentarily occupying Russian ground. The Russian government has not provided any evidence that the reporters crossed the border without proper authorization or knowingly violated laws.
CPJ strongly disputes the legitimacy of the charges, stating that the accused journalists were transparently performing essential newsgathering duties, with no intent to break the law. The organization views the prosecutions as part of a deliberate campaign to intimidate the foreign press, restrict access to conflict zones, and control the narrative surrounding the war in Ukraine.
These developments raise serious concerns about the safety and freedom of journalists covering the war from any side. Russia’s decision to criminalize frontline reporting threatens not only the journalists involved but the global public’s right to information about the ongoing conflict. CPJ has called for the immediate dismissal of all charges and for Russia to cease using legal threats as a means of silencing independent journalism. In a time of war, accurate and fearless reporting is not a crime—it is a democratic necessity.
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