An antiwar protester crashed the top newscast on Russia's Channel One Monday, holding up a sign behind the anchor 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. Russians against war."
The female protester could be heard shouting, "Stop the war. No to war." as the anchor read from a teleprompter. Moments later, the state-run channel switched to a different report.
The protester was identified by various sources as Marina Ovsyannikova, a worker at the channel. She was reportedly arrested by Moscow police.
She may face charges under a law against "discrediting" Russia's army and "public dissemination of deliberately false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation." The offense carries jail time of up to 15 years.
The State TV channel is the main source of news for most Russians, and it backs the Kremlin line that Russia was forced to act in Ukraine to demilitarize and "denazify" the country.