Moscow, August 23, 2024, The Europe Today: According to the NHC, Russian authorities have formally charged CNN’s Chief International Security Correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, with illegally crossing the state border. The charges stem from his recent reporting from the Ukrainian-held town of Sudzha, located in Russia’s Kursk Region. This move marks the latest in a series of actions taken against foreign journalists by Moscow.
The charges against Walsh come after similar accusations were made against two journalists from the Italian broadcaster RAI and two Ukrainian reporters. All were in Sudzha as part of a Western media contingent invited by the Ukrainian government.
Sudzha, a town with a pre-conflict population of approximately 5,000, was overtaken by Ukrainian forces during an incursion into the Kursk Region on August 6. Despite many residents fleeing, some civilians remain in the area, seeking refuge in shelters.
Walsh and his team arrived in Sudzha in an armored convoy, accompanied by Ukrainian soldiers. They filmed the damage in the town and interviewed remaining civilians. According to CNN’s Anderson Cooper, the Ukrainian military “accompanied” Walsh’s team and reviewed their footage before its release, citing “operational security reasons.” However, Cooper emphasized that the Ukrainian forces had “no editorial control” over CNN’s reporting.
CNN has strongly rejected Moscow’s accusations, maintaining that the network has provided “factual, impartial reporting covering both the Ukrainian and Russian perspectives on the war.” The network stated that Walsh acted “in accordance with the rights afforded to journalists under the Geneva Convention and international law.”
The Russian government has accused the Western journalists of engaging in “propaganda” on behalf of Ukraine. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova criticized foreign reporters embedded with Ukrainian troops, accusing them of ignoring “Kiev’s crimes against civilians” and “manipulating public opinion.”
The conflict in the Kursk Region has resulted in significant civilian casualties, with Russian officials reporting that at least 31 civilians were killed and 143 wounded during Ukraine’s attack.
Since the onset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, the European Union has banned several Russian news organizations, including RT, citing “systematic information manipulation.” In response, Moscow has banned dozens of Western news outlets, further escalating tensions between Russia and the West.
