Russia's FSB initiates criminal proceedings against DW reporter – DW – 27.08.2024

On Tuesday, the Russian domestic intelligence service FSB initiated criminal proceedings against two journalists for entering the Kursk region. Among them is the Kyiv-based DW correspondent Nick Connolly.

The FSB said Connolly, who reported last week from the town of Sudzha in the Ukrainian-occupied part of Russia's Kursk region, crossed the border illegally.

During his stay in Kursk, Connolly embedded in Ukrainian troops. He interviewed ordinary Russian civilians about their experiences and also spoke to Ukrainian military personnel.

Connolly said on Tuesday on DW television that Russia's move was no surprise.

“I think this was all to be expected. They did this to other journalists who went there. It's pretty normal. If you want to cover this war in Ukraine, you can't realistically go to Russia as well,” Connolly said.

“Even the media that still operate in Russia have a team in Moscow and another here in Ukraine, because reporting the facts on the ground here in Ukraine is enough under Russian law to provoke a charge of discrediting the Russian army.”

“We operate and report from Ukraine and occasionally [Russia] as part of a Ukrainian embedding, so nothing changes for us. I think the bigger problem is that there are increasingly bigger blind spots because there are so many areas affected by this war that journalists don't have access to.”

The Kursk Invasion of Ukraine

Ukraine's invasion of Kursk, which Western allies such as the United States and Germany said came as a surprise, began on August 6 when Ukrainian troops crossed the border.

Last week, the FSB initiated similar criminal proceedings against British citizen Nick Paton Walsh, who works as chief international security correspondent for the US broadcaster CNN.

Russia has announced that it will prosecute all journalists who enter the country in this way and has so far initiated seven such proceedings against foreign reporters.

The maximum penalty for anyone found guilty of illegally crossing the Russian border is five years in prison.

The Ukrainian military has been fending off a large-scale invasion by Russia since February 2022, and Russia continues to occupy large parts of eastern and southern Ukraine.

Russia banned DW from broadcasting in Russia, which led to the closure of its Moscow office in early 2022. Shortly thereafter, it labeled DW a “foreign agent.” Currently, deputies in the Duma parliament are recommending banning the channel's activities and content across the country, labeling it “undesirable.”

rc/msh (DW sources)