– To be completely honest, I do not understand what other choice we have. It is unbearable to see what is happening in Ukraine. For me, it was impossible to be quiet and do nothing, says the Russian journalist Alexandra Miroshnikova to CNN.
In the morning hours of the Russian Victory Day, May 9, several articles about the war in Ukraine were published by Lentaone of the most visited news sites in Russia.
Now the two initiators behind the publication – journalists Yegor Polyakov and Alexandra Miroshnikova – speak out on the CNN program “Anderson Cooper 360 °”.
The articles was sharply critical of the Russian warfare and Russian authorities, and signed several of the employees of the state-controlled news agency. They have now been taken down, but are archived online.
Claims the pictures show horror bombs
– Enormous amount of stress
“Putin lied about Russia’s plans in Ukraine”, “The Russian army turned out to be an army of thieves” and “Putin triggered one of the bloodiest wars of the 21st century” were among the headlines in the articles – which according to The Guardian also described Putin as a “pathetic, paranoid dictator.”
Polyakov tells Cooper that he felt that he “lived two lives” in the period leading up to the publication.
– It was an enormous amount of stress. But I agree with Alexandra. There is no excuse for not doing so, not even the risk it posed to me, our relatives, friends and colleagues.
Miroshnikova says that she is currently unemployed, with uncertain future prospects.
