Anti-war protester in studio interrupts live Russian news broadcast
A man looks at a computer screen watching a dissenting Russian Channel One employee entering Ostankino on-air TV studio during Russia's most-watched evening news broadcast, holding up a poster which reads "No War" and condemning Moscow's military action in Ukraine in Moscow, March 14. AFP-Yonhap
An anti-war protester interrupted the main news program on Russia's state TV Channel One, Monday, holding up a sign behind the studio presenter with slogans denouncing the war in Ukraine.
The sign, in English and Russian, read: "NO WAR. Stop the war. Don't believe propaganda. They are lying to you here."
The extraordinary protest took place on day 19 of the war which began when Russia invaded Ukraine, Feb. 24, in what it calls a special military operation.
Channel One said it was undertaking an internal review of the incident, Tass news agency reported.
"Stop the war. No to war," the woman protester could be heard shouting, as the news anchor continued to read from her teleprompter.
The protester could be seen and heard for several seconds before the channel switched to a different report to remove her from the screen.
"Wow, that girl is cool," Kira Yarmysh, spokeswoman for jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, wrote on Twitter.
She posted a video of the incident, which quickly racked up nearly 180,000 views.
State TV is the main source of news for many millions of Russians, and closely follows the Kremlin line. (Reuters)