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‘They’re Lying To You’: Employee Runs Into Frame, Interrupts Live Russian Broadcast

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Screenshot/ Twitter/ Max Seddon

Diana Glebova White House Correspondent
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A woman interrupted the live evening broadcast on Russia’s Channel One on Monday, running into the frame with a sign protesting the war in Ukraine and telling the audience that they are being “lied” to.

“Stop the war, no to war,” chanted the woman, who was reportedly identified as Marina Ovsyannikova, a producer for Channel One. She held a sign that read, “NO WAR” and “Russians against war” in English, and “Stop the war, don’t believe propaganda, they are lying to you” in Russian.

Ovsyannikova tried to get her sign into the frame as the evening anchor carried on with the news, raising her voice over the woman’s chanting. The news then cut away to a new frame.

Ovsyannikova’s lawyers told The Washington Post early Tuesday that they are unable to locate her. She pre-recorded a video message before crashing the set, saying she was “ashamed” for “working on Kremlin propaganda” at Channel One, The Washington Post reported.

“Unfortunately, I have been working at Channel One during recent years, working on Kremlin propaganda,” Ovsyannikova said, according to The Washington Post. “And now I am very ashamed. I am ashamed that I’ve allowed the lies to be said on the TV screens. I am ashamed that I let the Russian people be zombified.”

Ovsyannikova later appeared outside of court after a hearing Tuesday. She was reportedly fined for the public protest.

French President Emannuel Macron said Tuesday that France is ready to grant Ovsyannikova asylum if she needs or wants it.

Russia passed legislation March 4 increasing its media censorship after the invasion of Ukraine. The new law allows for individuals to be punished with up to 15 years of prison for publishing information that runs counter to Russia’s narrative. (RELATED: What Russian Media Has To Say About Possible Ukraine Invasion, US Involvement)

Several Russian journalists have fled the country and continue to report from abroad amid fears of imprisonment. Twenty-two Mediazona reporters left Russia after the draconian law was passed, and the only independent TV station in Russia, [Kanal Dozhd], shut down its operations. The editor-in-chief, Tikhon Dzyadko, left the country with his family.

A video published Sunday appears to show a woman holding up a sign that says “two words,” in Moscow’s Manezhnaya Square, before being ushered away by Russian police.

The “two words” seemingly allude to the “no war” phrase used to protest the war in Ukraine.

More than 750 people have been arrested in Russia for protesting against the war.