MOSCOW — Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) opened a criminal investigation Saturday into two Italian journalists who reported on Ukraine’s military offensive in the Kursk region, accusing them of illegally crossing the Russian border.
The journalists, Simone Traini and Stefania Battistini, work for RAI, Italy’s public broadcaster. Their report, which aired Wednesday, showed them driving into the Kursk region accompanied by Ukrainian military forces.
According to the Russian state news agency RIA, the FSB stated it had “launched a case against foreign journalists Simone Traini and Stefania Battistini, who illegally crossed the State Border of the Russian Federation.”
The security service alleged that the journalists “carried out video shooting in the territory of the settlement of Sudzha,” a town approximately 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the Ukraine-Russia border. Ukrainian forces claim to control this area as part of their cross-border ground assault that began on August 6.
The RAI report featured footage of the journalists traveling in an armored vehicle past Russian road signs before arriving in Sudzha, where they interviewed local residents.
In response to the broadcast, Russia summoned Italy’s ambassador to Moscow, Cecilia Piccioni, on Friday to lodge a formal protest. During the meeting, Piccioni explained that RAI and its editorial teams “plan their activities in a totally free and independent way,” according to an Italian foreign ministry spokesman who spoke to AFP.
The criminal probe marks an escalation in tensions between Russia and foreign media covering the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. It also highlights the complex situation in border regions where control is disputed between Russian and Ukrainian forces.
Ukraine’s offensive in the Kursk region represents a significant development in the conflict, with Ukrainian forces pushing beyond their borders into Russian territory.
The case against the Italian journalists raises questions about press freedom and the challenges faced by international media reporting on the conflict. It also underscores the potential legal risks for journalists operating in contested areas along the Russia-Ukraine border.
As of Saturday, neither RAI nor the journalists had publicly commented on the criminal investigation. The Italian government has not announced any official response to the Russian probe beyond the ambassador’s explanation of RAI’s editorial independence.
The situation continues to develop, with potential implications for diplomatic relations between Russia and Italy, as well as for international media coverage of the ongoing conflict in the region.
