Marina Ovsyannikova: Russian TV protester accused of being a British spy

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Marina Ovsyannikova, a Russian journalist who recently grabbed attention by hijacking a state television broadcast to denounce the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, has been accused of being a British spy.

In an on-air protest on Russia's Channel One on March 16evening, the 43-year-old Ovsyannikova held up an anti-war sign behind a studio presenter.

The sign read: "Stop the war. Don't believe the propaganda. They're lying to you". She also shouted slogans condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The editor has also been charged with unlawful protest after the incident went viral globally.

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In her first television interview with Reuters since her extraordinary protest, Ovsyannikova said that she had no plans to flee Russia and that she hoped she would not face criminal charges.

In the latest development, Kirill Kleimyonov, who is the head of Channel One's news division, appeared on the news programme and claimed that she was a British spy.

"Not long before [the protest], according to our information, Marina Ovsyannikova spoke with the British embassy. Who among you has had a telephone conversation with a foreign embassy?" Kleimyonov claimed as quoted by The Times.

He added, "Emotional impulse is one thing. But betrayal is something else." He also said that the on-air protest betrayed her country "and at the same time all of us, people with whom he has worked side by side for almost 20 years".

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"She betrays coldly, prudently, for a firmly agreed [financial] bonus - by the way, so as not to lose her previous one. The woman with the poster timed the action exactly to receive her next salary payment - so betrayal is always one's personal choice," he added.

"It is necessary to call things by their proper names. Otherwise, if the famous action for 30 pieces of silver coins were called an impulse of the soul, the history of the world would be different," he said.

"Just in case, I wish everyone good health. To all without exception. Even traitors. They have to continue to live with this burden," he further added.