Russia launches investigation into Italian journalists after Kursk report

According to Russian news agencies, Russian security services (FSB) have opened a criminal case against two journalists from the Italian RAI who were reporting in the Kursk region, accusing them of “illegally” crossing the border.

According to the same sources cited by the AFP agency, the FSB investigation is directed against journalists Stefania Battistini and Simone Traini.

Italian Ambassador to Russia Cecilia Piccioni was summoned to Moscow on Friday by Russian diplomats to discuss the issue.

After her summons, an Italian diplomat said the ambassador had defended to Russian authorities the independent work of journalists on the ground in Russia’s Kursk region, where the Ukrainian army has been invading since August 6.

The statement from Russian diplomacy assured that “the ambassador expressed a strong protest against the actions of the film crew from the public radio and television RAI, which illegally entered Russia to cover the criminal terrorist attack against Ukrainian military personnel in the Kursk region.”

This week, a report was shown of two professionals accompanying the Ukrainian army into the Russian town of Sudzha, about 10 kilometers from the Ukrainian border that Kiev claims to have completely conquered.

Sudzha is home to a major gas hub owned by Russian giant Gazprom, which continues to supply gas to Europe via Ukraine.

Italian journalists outside Russia could be sentenced to up to five years in prison under the Criminal Code.

On August 6, Ukrainian troops attacked the Kursk region, capturing, according to Kyiv, 82 towns and 1,150 square kilometers in an unprecedented offensive that caught the Russian army by surprise.