Where is Marina Ovsyannikova, the woman who protested against the war in Ukraine on Russian state TV? Her lawyers aren't sure.
Ovsyannikova, an editor at the Russian state-run Channel One, in a viral video on Monday held a sign on the air that read, "Stop the war. Don't believe in propaganda. They're lying to you." By Tuesday morning, Dmitry Zakhvatov, a lawyer for Ovsyannikova, told CNN he's been trying to locate her since the protest but doesn't know where she is.
Another lawyer, Anastasia Kostanova, told BBC News she "spent the whole night looking" for Ovsyannikova but hasn't been able to reach her.
"This means that they are hiding her from her lawyers and trying to deprive her of legal assistance and, apparently, they are trying to prepare the most stringent prosecution," Kostanova told BBC News, while attorney Pavel Chikov tweeted she "has not yet been found" and "has been imprisoned for more than 12 hours." Ovsyannikova was reportedly detained after the protest.
In addition to holding up the sign on the air, Ovsyannikova also recorded a video message, in which she said she's "ashamed" to be spreading Kremlin propaganda and that "what is happening in Ukraine is a crime."
According to The Washington Post, Russia's state-run news agency Tass reported that the Russian Investigative Committee began a "pre-investigation check" against Ovsyannikova, which could lead to charges for "discrediting" Russia's armed forces. A spokesperson for the Kremlin decried Ovsyannikova's protest as "hooliganism" and said "the channel and those who are in charge are dealing with it."
During an address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised Ovsyannikova and others who "don't stop trying to deliver the truth, who are fighting against disinformation and tell real facts to their friends and families."
