TV producer who protested war says Russians are against invasion

The Russian news producer who protested against the war in Ukraine on live television said on Sunday that more than half of Russia is against the invasion and said she would not leave the country despite risks to her safety.

Appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” Marina Ovsyannikova said, “I believe that many people, more than half of the people in Russia, are against the war.”

Last week, Ovsyannikova got behind a news anchor during a live broadcast and held up a sign reading, “Stop the war. Don’t believe propaganda. They’re lying to you here.”

Speaking through a translator, Ovsyannikova said her decision to protest on-air was a “spontaneous” one fueled by state-propaganda that has become more “distorted” over the years.

Ovsyannikova told host George Stephanopoulos that she had initially sought to attend a protest at Moscow’s Red Square, but decided she needed to do something more meaningful after seeing how many protesters were being arrested.

“I decided that maybe I could do something else, something more meaningful, but more impact. Where I could attract more attention to this and I could show to the rest of the world that Russians are against the war,” she said. “And I could show to the Russian people that this is just propaganda, expose this propaganda for what it is and maybe stimulate some people to speak up against the war.”

Stephanopoulos noted that Ovsyannikova had turned down an offer from France for asylum amid concerns for her well-being due to her protest. Ovsyannikova said that although she was concerned for her safety and that of her children, she would not leave Russia because she is a “patriot.”

“I want to live in Russia. My children want to live in Russia,” she said. “We have a very comfortable life in Russia and I don’t want to immigrate and lose another 10 years of my life to assimilate in some other country.”