Agnes Szucs
15 March 2022•Update: 15 March 2022
BRUSSELS
The EU on Tuesday applauded the courage of protesters in Russia demonstrating against the war in Ukraine, including state TV news employee Marina Ovsyannikova, who interrupted a live broadcast with an anti-war sign.
"We applaud the continued courage of the brave Russian citizens and peace-loving Russian citizens who dare to express their opposition (to the Ukraine war)," the European Commission's lead spokesperson on foreign policy, Peter Stano, told reporters at a daily news briefing.
He called the action taken by Ovsyannikova a "brave moral stance" to object to the Kremlin's "lies and propaganda live on a state-controlled TV channel," and expressed concern over the fact that her lawyers could not contact her after she was detained.
Over 14,000 anti-war protesters have been held in 140 cities across Russia as the state apparatus continues to crack down on "the domestic opposition and peace-loving population," denying their right to freedom of speech, Stano asserted.
He also strongly condemned ongoing attacks by Russian troops against Ukrainian civilians, including the shelling of targets in the city center of the capital Kyiv and "brutal siege" of the southeastern city of Mariupol on the coast of the Sea of Azov.
He underlined that the "deliberate attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure by Russian troops are shameful and reprehensible" and constitute a serious violation of international humanitarian law.
Stano also vowed that the EU would make sure that those responsible for human rights violations and war crimes would be held responsible.
An editor of the Russian state TV network Channel One, Ovsyannikova interrupted the Monday evening news, shouting "Stop the war!" and "No to war!" while holding up a sign saying: "Don't believe the propaganda. They're lying to you here."
She risks to face up to 15 years in prison for spreading "fake news" about the Russia-Ukraine war, which Moscow calls a "special military operation" under a recently adopted law.
The war, which began on Feb. 24, has drawn international condemnation, led to financial sanctions on Moscow, and spurred an exodus of global firms from Russia.
At least 636 civilians have been killed and 1,125 injured in Ukraine since the beginning of the war, according to the UN. It has warned, however, that the true toll is likely much higher as it has not been able to gain access to areas of increased hostilities.
3 million people have also fled to neighboring countries, according to latest UN estimates.
