Russian authorities on Monday placed Marina Ovsyannikova, the former state TV journalist who denounced the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine on-air, on the federal wanted list.
Ovsyannikova, 44, became well-known in Russia and abroad in March after holding up an anti-war sign during a primetime news program on state broadcaster Channel One, where she was employed as a producer at the time.
Authorities in August placed her under house arrest on charges of spreading “false information” about the Russian Armed Forces after she held up a poster reading: “How many more children must die [in Ukraine] before you stop?” near the Kremlin.
Last week, Ovsyannikova’s ex-husband claimed that the mother of two escaped from house arrest with her 11-year-old daughter.
It was not immediately clear if she was still in Russia or had fled the country.
She faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of spreading “false information” about the army.
In the months since Russia launched a full-scale assault on Ukraine, a number of Russian reporters and opposition activists have been added to the federal wanted list on the same charges, including investigative journalist Andrei Soldatov and journalists Alexander Nevzorov and Michael Nacke.
