Russian state TV news broadcast interrupted by anti-war activist

A recent live broadcast for a state run TV station in Russia was interrupted by a woman who ran onto the set holding a sign opposing the war in Ukraine.

The woman appeared behind the news anchor with a sign that read “NO WAR” at the top in English. Below this was a message in Russian that says: "No war, stop the war, don't believe the propaganda, they are lying to you here."

Within a matter of moments, the camera cut away from the shot. An independent human rights group that monitors political arrests identified the woman as Channel 1 employee Marina Ovsyannikova.

She was immediately taken into police custody following the incident, with her social media account active and presumably ran by police.

During a #Russian propaganda live broadcast, a girl with an anti-war banner ran into the studio pic.twitter.com/UMmgSjGlLJ

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 14, 2022

Ovsyannikova now faces fines and possible prison time. Russian authorities recently passed a law declaring it illegal to refer to Russia's actions in Ukraine as an “invasion” or to spread “fake news” about the conflict. State controlled stations like Channel 1 refer to the events as a “special military operation”.

This is courage, this is not a crime. Release Marina Ovsyannikova.

Read more here: https://t.co/i4owOMbOjl https://t.co/zLqhL38Zj8

— Amnesty Ireland (@AmnestyIreland) March 15, 2022

Ovsyannikova, whose father is Ukrainian, said in a video before the incident: "I'm ashamed that I allowed myself to tell lies from the television screen. Ashamed that I allowed Russians to be turned into zombies, we just silently watched this inhumane regime."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised Ovsyannikova for “telling the truth”.

French President Emmanuel Macron lauded her for her brave actions and has vowed to offer her protection through asylum or at a French embassy. He also plans to address the topic during his next conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Recently, staff from Russian TV station Dozhd stopped broadcasting and walked off the set in protest over Putin's brutal actions in Ukraine.

The Entire staff of the Russian TV channel “the rain” resigned during a live stream with last words: “no war” and then played “swan lake” ballet video (just like they did on all USSR tv channels when it suddenly collapsed) #Ukriane #UkraineRussiaWar #Russia #StandWithUkraine️ pic.twitter.com/o4LzUqnWLc

— Ukraine News UK (@UkraineNewsUK) March 4, 2022