Russia opened a criminal probe on Saturday into two Italian journalists who reported on Ukraine's offensive in the Kursk region, accusing them of crossing the border illegally.
Russia's FSB security service said it had launched a case against "foreign journalists Simone Traini and Stefania Battistini, who illegally crossed the State Border of the Russian Federation", according to the RIA news agency.
It said the journalists had "carried out video shooting in the territory of the settlement of Sudzha", a town in the region that Ukraine's forces claim to control.
Russia had summoned Italy's ambassador to Moscow, Cecilia Piccioni, to protest the report on Friday.
Piccioni explained during the meeting that RAI, "and in particular the editorial teams, plan their activities in a totally free and independent way", an Italian foreign ministry spokesman.
Italy's foreign ministry said its ambassador Cecilia Piccioni had also explained to the Russian authorities that RAI and its news teams acted independently and autonomously.
Reporting 'illegally'
Kyiv has been carrying out a major cross-border ground assault in the Kursk region in Russia since 6 August.
And the Italian public broadcaster RAI aired a report on Wednesday 14, showing the journalists drive into the region accompanied by Ukrainian military.
The Italian reporters were shown in an armoured vehicle past Russian road signs before arriving in Sudzha, around 10 kilometres from the border, where a journalist spoke to local people.
Russia also said on Saturday that it had repelled Ukrainian forces near the town of Korenevo and the villages of Russkoye and Cherkasskoye Porechnoye, in the Kursk border region.
Ukraine's attacks "were repelled in the direction of the settlements of Korenevo, Russkoye and Cherkasskoye Porechnoye", the Russian defence ministry said.
Uncertain situation
RAI planned to get the journalists back to Italy from Sunday evening.
"The company decided to make journalist Stefania Battistini and cameraman Simone Traini return temporarily to Italy, solely to ensure personal safety and security," RAI added.
The two reporters were scheduled to fly back to the northern Italian city of Milan on Sunday.
"Journalism is not a crime," RAI union Usigrai and Italy's national press union FNSI said in a joint statement. "The Moscow authorities' possibility of putting Stefania Battistini and Simone Traini on trial is unacceptable. Reporting is not done with prior authorisations."
(with newswires)
