Russian journalist Marina Ovsyanikova[/B], who interrupted a Russian television newscast on Monday to protest against the war in Ukraine, refused a proposal made by French President Emmanuel Macron to grant her asylum in France because she "does not want to leave her country."
"We will remain in Russia," Ovshyanikova said, referring to herself and her children, in an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel. The journalist has a 17-year-old son and an 11-year-old daughter. "I am a patriot and my son is an even bigger patriot. In no way do we want to leave, we don't want to emigrate anywhere," she said. Macron said on Tuesday he was ready to offer "consular protection" to Ovsiankova, either at the French embassy or by offering her asylum in France. "My life has changed forever, I am slowly realizing it. I can't go back to my old life," the 43-year-old journalist commented to Spiegel.
Ovshyanikova appeared on Monday evening during a television broadcast on the Kremlin-affiliated Pervy Kanal (Channel 1) behind the TV presenter, holding a placard that read "No to War. Don't believe the propaganda. Here, they are lying to you."
After being arrested, she was fined and released, but is at risk of criminal charges under a new law adopted in Russia that provides for up to 15 years in prison for those who spread "false news."
"It's a war against a brotherly people! No sane person can accept it," explained the journalist who was born in Odessa, Ukraine to a Ukrainian father and Russian mother.
Ovsyanikova assessed that her intervention was "a peaceful act: it is in the interest of Russia and the whole world to end this war as soon as possible." "I also wanted to show that the Russians are also against this war, which many people in the West do not understand. The majority of intelligent and educated people here are opposed to this war," he assessed. "Most people who work for state television understand very well what is going on () They are not convinced propagandists, they often have nothing to do with it," he said.
"They are fighting an internal battle between their work and the moral code () But colleagues have to feed their families, they know that in the current political climate they will not find another job," clarified the journalist, who said she was "happy" that many Russian journalists at state networks have resigned in recent days to voice their opposition to restrictions on reporting.
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