ABC journalists face criminal probe in Russia over ‘illegal’ border crossing
By Rob Harris
London: Russian authorities are investigating two Australian journalists for reporting in parts of the Kursk region occupied by Ukrainian forces earlier this month.
State-run news agency TASS reported on Friday that the ABC’s Europe correspondent Kathryn Diss and camera operator Fletcher Yeung were the subject of a criminal investigation by Russia’s Federal Security Service, the successor agency to the Soviet Union’s KGB.
Residents leave an apartment building damaged by shelling in Kursk in August, 2024.Credit: AP
The report said the pair - incorrectly identified as US citizens - had “illegally” crossed the border earlier this month to report from Sudzha, a Ukrainian-held town in the Kursk region after being escorted by a Ukrainian military unit on August 31.
Ukraine claims it has captured dozens of towns and villages in the Kursk region, including Sudzha, following a surprise incursion by its forces on August 6, while Moscow asserts its forces have gradually regained control of the territory during counteroffensive operations.
While several Australian media outlets have covered the war in Ukraine since Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the ABC’s report was the first time any crew crossed the border into Russia.
Russian authorities accuse ABC Europe correspondent Kathryn Diss and a cameraman of illegally crossing the border to report from Ukraine-occupied villages.Credit: @KathrynDiss on X
“Crossing the border here doesn’t just carry the physical risk of being in a war zone; it also means that as individuals, we’re unlikely to ever be able to return to Russia,” Diss and Yeung explained in their story, saying it was in the public interest to understand this critical juncture of the war.
Authorities in Russia say they have so far charged 12 foreign journalists for entering the Kursk region following the surprise incursion in early August, where Ukrainian troops advanced up to 30 kilometres into the region of Kursk.
Illegally crossing the border carries a penalty of up to five years in prison under the Russian Criminal Code.
“We reject Russia’s claim that the ABC’s reporters have done anything illegal,” the ABC said in a statement.
“They were reporting from occupied territory in a war zone and in full compliance with international law. Their reporting was done in the interests of keeping the public fully informed on a story of international importance. They are being fully supported by the ABC.”
A third journalist, Mircea Barbu, a Romanian special correspondent for the website HotNews, also faces charges after being criticised by pro-war Russian military bloggers for reporting from the Kursk region.
Since Putin’s troops launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has put more than 200 Australians on a list permanently banning them from entering the country. Among them are several journalists from the ABC, reporters and editors from the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age as well as various defence officials and political figures.
The Russian foreign ministry said at the time they were targeted for the “spreading of false information about” the country.
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