By Elena Teslova
MOSCOW (AA) - Russia on Friday said criminal cases were initiated against three more foreign journalists for illegally crossing the country's border in the Kursk region.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) said cases were opened against US citizens Fletcher Young and Catherine Diss, correspondents for Australia's ABC network and Romanian citizen Parbu Mircea, a reporter for the news site HotNews.
"Since Aug. 17, a total of 12 foreign journalists have faced criminal charges for the illegal activities in question," the FSB said.
The charges come amid ongoing clashes between Russian and Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region, where Kyiv launched an incursion on Aug. 6.
Moscow claims that US private military companies are fighting alongside Ukrainian forces in the region and summoned American Chargé d'Affaires Stephanie Holmes to formally protest their involvement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the offensive was spurred by the West's restrictions on Kyiv launching strikes deep into Russian territory.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has condemned the incursion as a "terrorist attack."