Mar 15, 2022: An anti-war protester disrupted a live evening news program on Russia’s state television, with a sign behind the studio’s presenter saying “No war. Stop the war” and “Don’t believe the propaganda. ”

Dissent broke out in Channel One studios on Monday, the 19th day of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, amid what human rights groups have called an “unprecedented, nationwide crackdown on independent journalism, anti-war protests and dissenting voices” in Russia.

The female protester held up a sign that read in English and Russian: “NO WAR. Stop the war. Don’t believe propaganda. They are lying to you here.”

Вау. Девушка крутая pic.twitter.com/QXC6s4DPki

— Кира Ярмыш (@Kira_Yarmysh) March 14, 2022

She could be heard shouting “Stop the war. No to war”, as the news anchor continued to read from her teleprompter.

Several seconds later, the channel switched to a different report to remove the protesters from the screen.

The woman was thanked by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his nightly address, “I am grateful to those Russians who do not stop trying to convey the truth. To those who fight disinformation and tell the truth, real facts to their friends and loved ones,” Zelenskyy said. “And personally to the woman who entered the studio of Channel One with a poster against the war.”

A video of the incident quickly racked up 2.6million views. The woman was named by OVD-Info, an independent protest-monitoring group, and by the head of the Agora human rights group, as Marina Ovsyannikova, an employee of the channel.

Pavel Chikov, head of Agora, said Ovsyannikova had been arrested and taken to a Moscow police station. Tass news agency said she may face charges under a law against discrediting the armed forces, citing a law enforcement source.

In a video recorded before the incident, Ovsyannikova says, “What is happening now in Ukraine is a crime, and Russia is the aggressor country. The responsibility for that aggression lies on the conscience of only one man, and that man is Vladimir Putin,”

She urged Russians to go out and demonstrate.

Authorities have broken up anti-war protests across Russia in the past two weeks.

According to OVD-Info, which monitors protests and provides legal assistance to those detained, 14,911 people have been arrested.

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