Russia opens criminal case against Italian journalists who arrived in Kursk region with Ukrainian troops

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) on Saturday said it opened a criminal case on illegal border crossing against two Italian journalists who arrived in Russia's Kursk region with Ukrainian troops.

"The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation has initiated and is investigating a criminal case ... against foreign journalists Simoni Traini and Stephanie Battistini, who illegally crossed the state border of the Russian Federation and carried out video filming on the territory of the settlement of Sudzha, Kursk region," the FSB said in a statement.

A legal assessment is also being carried out of materials distributed in the media indicating the presence of a US TV channel reporter Nick Peyton Walsh in the territory of the Russian checkpoint Sudzha, it said.

"Based on the results of the legal check, a procedural decision will be made," it said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday summoned the Italian ambassador to Moscow over the presence of journalists from Italian state media in the battle zone in Kursk.

The ministry said in a statement that it conveyed a strong protest to Ambassador Cecilia Piccioni "in connection with the actions of the film crew of the Italian state television and radio company RAI that illegally entered the territory of the Russian Federation" to cover Ukraine's incursion.