Appearing in an administrative court in Moscow, Marina Ovsyannikova described the proceedings against her as “absurd”. “The evidence confirms Ovsyannikova’s guilt. There is no reason to doubt their authenticity,” the judge said after a brief hearing. The judge found her guilty of the social media posts and fined her 50,000 rubles (£677) under a law passed in March, soon after President Vladimir Putin launched his “special military operation” against Ukraine. “Gathering momentum” in Kherson counterattack – latest news in Ukraine During the proceedings, the 44-year-old repeated her protest and said she would not take back her words. “War is horror, blood and shame,” he said. “Your accusations are like accusing me of spreading monkey pox,” he said. “The purpose of the trial is to intimidate all people who oppose the war in the Russian Federation.” He described Russia as an aggressor country, saying: “Starting this war is the greatest crime of our government.” The former journalist gained international attention in March after storming into the studios of Russian state television, her then employer, to denounce the war in Ukraine. Read more from Sky News: US offers Russia prisoner swap deal in bid to free two Americans. At the time she was editor of the nightly news program Vremya. He was fined for violating protest laws at the time and later took to social media to say that those responsible for Russia’s actions would be brought to justice in an international court. After breaking into live television in March, Ovsyannikova told Reuters she feared for her and her children’s safety but had no plans to leave Russia.
