RIGA, Latvia — Marina Ovsyannikova — the Russian journalist who made international headlines after protesting the war in Ukraine live on state TV in March — has escaped house arrest and fled with her 11-year-old daughter, according to Russia’s Interior Ministry.
Ovsyannikova’s whereabouts are not known, nor is it clear how she escaped her pre-trial house arrest. The Interior Ministry put the 44-year-old on its wanted list on Monday.
Ovsyannikova, a former senior editor at Channel One, Russia’s state-controlled television channel, staged a stunning live-on-air protest in March. She shouted “No to war!” and held up a placard condemning the invasion of Ukraine and urging people not to believe the government’s lies.
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She has since been fined twice for discrediting the Russian military and in August was sentenced to two months’ house arrest, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, for spreading fake news about the military.
The latter was referring to a protest in July when she stood on the riverbank opposite the Kremlin in central Moscow and held up a placard calling the Russian president and his soldiers fascists.
“How many more children must die before you quit?” the poster read.
Her ex-husband first reported her absence to the authorities on Saturday, Russian media reported. In an interview with pro-Kremlin RT channel, Igor Ovsyannikov said he doesn’t know where his ex-wife is, but his daughter doesn’t have a passport.
Since April, Ovsyannikova and her husband have been in a custody battle over their two children. Her 17-year-old son has already declared that he wants to live with his father, Russian media reported.
“I contacted the authorities after my daughter went missing, but I still haven’t received any official answers from them about the progress of the investigation,” Ovsyannikov said. “When I called my daughter, she was confused and gave strange answers to my questions.”
Several other prominent figures, including activists Lucy Shtein and Maria Alyokhina of the band Pussy Riot, had previously fled Russia despite restrictions on their movement.
Ovsyannikova’s escape is the latest embarrassment for Russia, which has faced staggering battlefield losses in Ukraine and mounting criticism of the war at home, even among some key Kremlin supporters. At the same time, the Kremlin has cracked down on dissent as it works to recruit thousands of new soldiers to fight in Ukraine.
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Ovsyannikova did not respond to Washington Post calls and texts on Sunday and Monday.
Born in Ukraine, Ovsyannikova was Editor-in-Chief at Channel One. But when she went into the office the day after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, she said, she realized she could no longer work there.
“Unfortunately for the last few years I’ve been working at Channel One and working on Kremlin propaganda,” Ovsyannikova said in a video message she broadcast after the protests in March. “And now I’m very ashamed. I am ashamed that I allowed the lies to be told on the television screens. I am ashamed that I allowed the Russian people to be zombified.”
“It is only in our power to stop this madness,” she said, alluding to the high price of dissent in Russia. “Go out into the street. Dont be afraid. You can’t lock us all up.”
War in Ukraine: What you need to know
The newest: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed decrees annexing four occupied regions of Ukraine after staged referenda were widely denounced as illegal. Follow our live updates here.
The answer: The Biden administration on Friday announced a new round of sanctions against Russia in response to the annexations, targeting government officials and family members, Russian and Belarusian military officials and defense procurement networks. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said on Friday that Ukraine was requesting “accelerated entry” into NATO in an apparent response to the annexations.
In Russia: Putin on September 21 declared a military mobilization to call up up to 300,000 reservists in a dramatic attempt to reverse setbacks in his war against Ukraine. The announcement prompted an exodus of more than 180,000 people, mostly conscript men, and renewed protests and other acts of defiance against the war.
The fight: Ukraine launched a successful counter-offensive that forced a major Russian retreat in the northeastern Kharkiv region in early September, as troops fled towns and villages they had occupied since the early days of the war, leaving behind large amounts of military equipment.
Photos: Washington Post photographers have been on the ground since the war began – here is some of their most impressive work.
How can you help: Here are ways people in the US can support the people of Ukraine, as well as what people around the world have donated.
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