Russia probes German journalist over Zelensky question

Russian authorities have opened a criminal case against a German journalist over a question he asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a press conference about the killing of Russian soldiers, a state news agency reported on Sunday, reported dpa.

The correspondent for the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) is being investigated on suspicion of inciting hatred and hostility, the TASS news agency reported.

Authorities are currently deciding whether to place the journalist, who covers South-Eastern Europe for the newspaper from Vienna, on an international wanted list.

The FAZ press office told dpa that it was not aware of the proceedings.

At a press conference in Belgrade earlier this month, the correspondent asked Zelensky what Europeans could do to help Ukraine kill more Russian soldiers, prompting criticism.

The newspaper subsequently said that the reporter's question had been phrased ambiguously and that it regretted this. It said it was not FAZ's editorial position that as many Russian soldiers as possible should be killed.

According to TASS, the journalist could face up to six years in a penal colony if convicted in Russia.

Russian courts also hand down sentences in absentia.

The Russian Foreign Ministry sharply criticized the journalist, while Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, told the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti that the reporter would have to answer for his actions.

FAZ, for its part, has criticized what it described as "defamation and threats" against its correspondent. "This is unacceptable," the newspaper said.

It added that freedom of the press includes the right to ask questions, particularly at a press conference: "We will respond to threats against our employees using legal means."