Why are we writing about this?
On Thursday, the main edition of the RAI1 daily aired a short report from Shuja in the Kursk region. Reporter Stefania Battistini and cameraman Simone Traini went there. Ansa reported in the evening that the Italian ambassador to Russia, Cecilia Piccioni, had been summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow, saying that RAI television and especially its press departments planned their activities completely independently. The ambassador added that the mission of diplomacy is to protect Italian citizens under all circumstances.
What action will the Russians take?
Earlier in the day, news came out of Moscow that the Russian Interior Ministry intended to initiate criminal proceedings against RAI television correspondents who reported on Shuja. The Interior Ministry’s threat was relayed by the Russian BASA channel in a telegram cited by Ansa. As described, the proceedings against the Italian journalists were for illegal crossing of the state border under Article 322 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
The RAI Journalists Association and several Italian politicians expressed solidarity with the ambassadors.
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