London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 22, 2026

Marina Ovsyannikova: German outlet hires Russian TV protester

A German media outlet has hired dissident Russian journalist Marina Ovsyannikova as a correspondent.
She will work for the company which owns Die Welt newspaper, reporting from Ukraine and Russia, it announced.

Last month Ms Ovsyannikova staged a protest on Russian television, storming her Channel One employer's live broadcast with an anti-war placard.

The 43-year-old was detained and fined by a Russian court, and made international headlines.

She will now work as a freelance correspondent for Die Welt, writing for its flagship German newspaper and appearing as a contributor on a TV news channel it owns.

Die Welt "stands for what is being defended so vehemently by the courageous people on the ground in Ukraine right now: for freedom," Ms Ovsyannikova said.

Ulf Porschardt, who is editor-in-chief of Welt Group, said that Ms Ovsyannikova's on-air protest "defended the most important journalistic ethics - despite the threat of state repression".

"I am excited to be working with her," he added.

After the March protest, Ms Ovsyannikova said she was prevented from sleeping for two days and questioned for 14 hours, before being issued with a 30,000 rouble (£214, $280) fine in relation to an anti-war video message she had posted online.

In the video, she called on the Russian people to protest against the war, saying only they have the power to "stop all this madness".

After the protest, the journalist left her job as an editor at the Russian state-controlled Channel One, and announced that she would not be accepting an offer of asylum in France, because she wanted to stay in Russia even though she feared for her safety.

Ms Ovsyannikova could still face further prosecution under Russian law, risking years in prison under a new penal code which criminalises spreading "fake news" about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Russia recently made it illegal to call the war an "invasion," with Russian state-controlled news organisations instead told to describe it as a "special military operation."
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
The rise and fall of Hui Ka Yan, China’s richest man
Woke: Britain Considers Plain Packaging for Cigars as Specialist Shops Warn of Industry Collapse
Britain's Public-Service Productivity Remains Below 2019 as £80 Billion Output Gap Fuels WFH Debate
Mandelson Epstein Case in Jeopardy as U.S. Files Stay Out of Reach
Prince Harry and Six Others Ordered to Pay £9.5 Million After High Court Defeat
Bank of England Holds Interest Rate at 3.75% as Inflation and Energy Risks Persist
UK AI Security Tests Find Autonomous Agent Attempting Malicious Code Injection
UK Economy Grows 0.4% in Second Quarter Amid Global Pressures
UK Joins European Allies in Condemning Israeli Settlement Plans in West Bank E1 Area
Multiple People Killed in A66 Collision Near Middlesbrough Involving Police Vehicle
UK Government Holds First National Day for Victims and Survivors of Terrorism
UK Met Office Warns of Severe Autumn Storms as Strong El Niño Follows Historic Drought
Petrol Bombs Set Luxury Cars Alight Outside Birmingham Wedding as Police Hunt Three Men
Bitcoin Surges Toward $80,000 as Short Squeeze and ETF Inflows Ignite Crypto Rally
Prince Harry and Co-Claimants Ordered to Pay £9.5 Million Toward Daily Mail Publisher’s Legal Costs
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Reportedly Plan Return to Britain With Their Children
UK Court Ruling Threatens Deportation Plans for Potential Trafficking Victims to Albania
Kemi Badenoch Presses UK Government for Decisions on Rosebank and Jackdaw Oil Fields
UK Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Calls for Ban on Goods from Occupied West Bank
Andy Burnham Government to Place Civil Servants Directly in English Mayoral Offices
Met Office Warns Major El Niño Could Bring Stormier, Wetter Autumn to UK
UK Economy Gains Unexpected Momentum Ahead of Andy Burnham Government’s First Budget
Twenty-Nine US States Take Meta to Trial Over Alleged Child Addiction on Instagram and Facebook
Former Scottish National Party Executive Peter Murrell Jailed for Five Years Over £400,000 Embezzlement
Moderna and Merck's Personalized Cancer Vaccine Succeeds in Historic Late-Stage Melanoma Trial
Prince Harry and Meghan to Move Back to Britain With Their Children
England and Wales Have Fewer Than 1,800 Prison Places Left for Men
Royal Navy to Accelerate DragonFire Laser Deployment Against Growing Drone Threat
Northern Ireland Approves Five Hundred Million Pound Belfast Harbour Expansion
Great British Railways Takes Full Control of Avanti West Coast as Rail Nationalisation Reaches Final Stage
UK AI Safety Institute Calls for Mandatory Security Audits of Advanced AI Models
Scotland Secures Three Billion Pounds for Floating Offshore Wind Hub in Aberdeen
Government Overrides Local Councils to Approve Green Belt Housing Across Southern England
UK and EU Move Toward Mutual Recognition of Food Standards to Ease Cross-Channel Trade
Government Plans Multibillion-Pound Private Healthcare Expansion to Cut NHS Surgical Backlogs
Bank of England Signals Faster Rate Cuts as Inflation Falls Below the Two Percent Target
Suspected People Smuggler Arrested After Investigation Identified Him
Children's Doctors Warn That Vaping Can Lead Young People to Smoking
Hundreds of Thousands of Students Receive GCSE and Vocational Results Across England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Here Is What Can Never Happen in Your Country: Taiwan Is Giving Money to All Its People Because It Collected Too Much Tax
UK Inflation Rises to 2.9% as Energy Bills Jump
UK Issues New Conduct Guide for Asylum Seekers on Consent and Respect
Moderna Shares Surge After Positive Personalized Skin Cancer Trial Results
UK Markets Watch US National Debt Surpass Forty Trillion Dollars
UK Broadcasters Urge Government to Invest in Digital Participation and Broadband
CVC Capital Partners and Standard Life Launch Two Billion Pound Pension Risk Transfer Venture
UK Private Sector Productivity Growth Accelerates in Second Quarter
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband Condemns Israeli E1 Settlement Tender
UK Watchdog Investigates Trainline, Virgin Atlantic and RED Driving School Over Hidden Fees
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Plan Move to Private Home Outside London
×