A brave Russian journalist who broke into her TV station’s studio to protest her country’s invasion of Ukraine is now missing.
Marina Ovsyannikova was detained by the authorities after her fearless stunt, but her whereabouts are unknown and her lawyers were unable to see her.
“Marina Ovsyannikova has not yet been found. She has been in detention for more than 12 hours,” human rights lawyer Pavel Chikov wrote on Twitter, adding that he was looking for her, reports The Telegraph.
A Russian journalist who stormed a TV station to protest the war in Ukraine may have gone missing. HANDOUT
“The pre-investigation check does not provide grounds for arrest and detention,” he added.
During a live broadcast on Monday, Ovsyannikova burst into the frame while Channel One presenter Ekaterina Andreeva read the news with a sign “Stop the war. Don’t believe the propaganda. They lie to you”, in a mixture of English and Russian.
Get the latest updates in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict live on The Post.
She chanted: “Stop the war! No war!” how Andreeva tried to pass her segment before the producers switched to the video clip, interrupt frames showed.
Prior to her live protest, Ovsyannikova recorded a video in which she said she was “deeply ashamed” of participating in “Kremlin propaganda,” Russian human rights group OVD-Info said.
Marina Ovsyannikova speaks in a statement recorded before holding up an anti-war banner on live television. MARINA OVSYANNIKOVA
She called on Russians to protest against the war, saying: “Only we have the power to stop all this madness,” OVD-Info reports.
Ovsyannikova also said in the video: “What is happening in Ukraine is a crime, and Russia is the aggressor. “Responsibility for this aggression lies on the conscience of only one person. This man is Vladimir Putin,” the American newspaper Sun reported.
“My father is Ukrainian, my mother is Russian, and they have never been enemies,” she added. “The necklace around my neck is a symbol that Russia must immediately stop this fratricidal war, and our fraternal peoples can still reconcile.
Firefighters put out fires in a residential building after shelling in Kyiv. Felipe Dana
President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged Ovsyannikova’s act during his nightly address.
“I am grateful to those Russians who do not stop trying to convey the truth. To those who fight disinformation and tell the truth, the real facts to their friends and loved ones,” he said, according to the news outlet.
“And personally to the woman who entered the studio of Channel One with a poster against the war,” Zelensky added.
Marina Ovsyannikova urged ordinary Russians to protest against the war. Facebook / Marina Ovsyannikova
Under a law passed by the Russian parliament this month, journalists who qualify the invasion of Ukraine as a “war” or report on the Kremlin’s military failures and civilian deaths face up to three years in prison.
The penalty could rise to 15 years in prison for cases involving “serious consequences,” Russian officials said.
Ovsyannikova reportedly changed her Facebook profile picture to show herself and a pigeon icon with an olive branch.
Rescuers work near a shell-damaged apartment building as Russia continues its offensive into Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine. STATE SERVICE FOR EMERGENCY OF UKRAINE