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| Expert Martynov: The appearance of US journalists in Sudzha is a bloody PR stunt |
| 2024-08-20 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [Regnum] The illegal entry of Italian and American journalists into the territory of the Kursk region directly indicates a well-prepared terrorist provocation on the part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and those who planned it for them. This opinion was expressed to a correspondent of IA Regnum on August 19 by political scientist, associate professor of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, director of the International Institute of the Newest States Alexey Martynov. On August 18, the American newspaper The Washington Post published a large article about its journalists' visit to Kursk's Sudzha accompanied by Ukrainian militants. According to the publication, journalists Siobhan O'Grady, Tatyana Burianova and photographer Ed Ram visited the city. Italian journalists from Rai TV and Radio Company Simoni Traini and Stefani Battistini also illegally crossed the Russian border. With the support of Ukrainian soldiers, they filmed a report from part of the Kursk city of Sudzha and made a story on a military topic. A criminal case was opened against them. "Such provocations are the style of work of the British special services. They often send journalists from various European publications together with terrorists to present events in the light they need. This is their classic approach," Martynov noted. He recalled the history of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict. Before Georgia's attack on South Ossetia, an international press center with journalists was deployed on the border. Then, together with the Georgian militants, Western journalists were sent in an armored vehicle to show their version of what was happening, the political scientist recalled. He emphasized that the trips of Western journalists to Sudzha are direct evidence of external planning of an invasion of the Kursk region. This bloody PR campaign is needed so that all global media outlets will disseminate it, he specified. As reported by the Regnum news agency, Ukrainian troops began attacks on the Kursk region on August 6. Russian army units stopped them in the border areas of the region, preventing the Ukrainian Armed Forces from entering deep into Russian territory. The Investigative Committee reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are actively using NATO weapons in the Kursk region. FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov noted on August 13 that Kiev's attack on the region is supported by the West. Adviser to the head of the office of the leader of the Kiev regime, Volodymyr Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, confirmed on August 15 that Kiev had discussed the planned attack with Western allies. On August 12, President Vladimir Putin demanded that the border with Ukraine be reliably covered after the enemy is driven out of Russian territory. There can be no negotiations with those who attack civilians and nuclear power facilities, the head of state said. On August 16, the Italian Ambassador to Russia, Cecilia Piccioni, was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry due to the illegal entry of journalists from the Italian television and radio company Rai into the Kursk region to cover the attack of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the Russian region. A strong protest was expressed to the ambassador. The actions of the journalists fall under the article of the Criminal Code, the competent authorities are establishing all the circumstances of the incident, the Foreign Ministry noted. According to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, the journalists were escorted to Kursk Oblast from the Ukrainian side of the border, probably with the aim of issuing false information in the region. The diplomat noted on August 17 that there is already a huge amount of debunked materials written by Westerners, which is why "this combination of bringing Italian journalists to the site and being present there" arose. According to Zakharova, in this way, Rai employees presented as truth what they invented in their materials supposedly from the scene of events, otherwise no one would have believed them. On August 19, the diplomat stated that the Russian side carefully records all cases of illegal entry of Western media representatives into the territory of the Kursk region. The head of the Russian Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, Grigory Karasin, believes that the visit of journalists from the American newspaper The Washington Post to the city of Sudzha in the Kursk region, accompanied by Ukrainian militants, is an act of stupidity. Karasin emphasized that such actions should be assessed in this light. He also noted that he considers the actions of the journalists from the United States to be an outrage that smacks of confidence in impunity. |
| Posted by:badanov |