CNN's Nick Paton Walsh charged with illegal border crossing in Kursk
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Russian authorities have charged CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh with illegally crossing the border while covering the Ukrainian takeover of Sudzha.
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A screengrab from Nick Paton Walsh's report on Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk region, Russia, earlier in August. (CNN)
CNN’s chief international security correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, was charged by Russian authorities for illegally crossing the state border while reporting on the situation in the town of Sudzha which was taken over by Ukrainian forces.
Walsh was not the only one who had such charges brought against him. Similar charges have been brought against journalists from Italian broadcaster RAI and two Ukrainian reporters.
This came after Sudzha, with a pre-conflict population of 5,000, was overrun by Kiev’s forces during their incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region, which began on August 6.
While reporting in Sudzha, Walsh traveled in an armored convoy with Ukrainian soldiers following a request from the Ukrainian government to cover the counteroffensive into the Kursk region.
CNN’s Anderson Cooper stated that the Ukrainian military "accompanied" Walsh and reviewed the footage his team filmed for "operational security reasons," though they allegedly had "no editorial control" over CNN’s reporting.
Moscow has accused Western reporters of promoting "propaganda" for Ukraine, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova claiming that they are silent on "Kiev’s crimes against civilians" and "manipulating public opinion."
CNN has denied Moscow’s accusations, asserting that the channel provided "factual, impartial reporting" from both Ukrainian and Russian perspectives and that Walsh acted "in accordance with the rights afforded to journalists under the Geneva Convention and international law."
Ukrainian offensive stopped across Kursk
Ukrainian forces’ attempts to advance have been halted across the entirety of Russia's Kursk region, with their key resources eliminated, Apti Alaudinov, the commander of the Akhmat special forces, said on Tuesday adding that Russian troops were now focusing on clearing settlements.
Ukraine launched a large-scale surprise offensive into the Kursk region on August 6.
"The first days we were busy stopping the enemy's main forces, and we succeeded. The enemy was completely stopped along the entire perimeter," Alaudinov said during an interview on Russian television.
The commander indicated that the destruction of major Ukrainian resources, including forward echelons, "inflicted very heavy damage on the enemy. They lost a lot of equipment, tanks, armored vehicles and a lot of infantry."
"I think at the moment, we no longer have to worry that the enemy, no matter how many more resources he has, could pass through the area where we're situated," he affirmed.
Alaudinov also emphasized that the Ukrainian forces were stopped in an unfavorable position and have now begun entrenching themselves.
The commander revealed the involvement of a huge number of foreign mercenaries, including servicemen from NATO countries, in the Kursk operation.
According to Alaudinov, the Kursk operation was orchestrated by NATO powers to divert Russian attention and impede progress in other areas, accompanied by war crimes committed by Ukrainian forces.
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