Russian journalist who protested on TV is changing her name to support Ukraine

MARINA OVSYNNIKOVA, the Russian journalist who protested against the war in Ukraine during a live broadcast on Channel 1 in Russia on Monday, March 14, said she is going to change her surname to support Ukraine.

Russian journalist Marina Ovsynnikova, who infamously interrupted a Russian news broadcast for a brief few seconds with a sign that read “No war, stop the war, don’t believe the propaganda, they are lying to you here,” has decided to change her surname to the original Ukrainian Tkachuk to support Ukraine.

Marina Ovsyannikova, an editor at a TV channel in Russia, interrupted a live broadcast with a sign that read “NO WAR. Stop the war. Don't believe the propaganda. They're lying to you here.” She has since been detained. This is an act of incredible courage. pic.twitter.com/BOJ70m2ztv

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) March 14, 2022

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, June 7, Ms Ovsynnikova said “I’m not a ‘good Russian’, I’m Ukrainian. As a sign of support for Ukraine, I intend to change the surname of Ovyannikov to its native name Tkachuk.”

The former editor at state-controlled Channel 1, who was feared dead after going missing following the live broadcast interruption, also said that she believed that Putin was not solely to blame for crimes in Ukraine at the hands of Russian soldiers.

She said: “War is the collective fault of the Russians. It was not Putin who killed people in Bucha and bombed the maternity hospital in Mariupol. Specific war criminals were doing it.”

After being detained and finally released to testify in a Moscow courtroom, the journalist has continued to thank French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and American politicians for ‘rescuing her’.

“Why was I let go? Thanks to Macron, Zelensky and American politicians,” she said.