TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Tuesday (March 15) praised a Russian woman for her courage after she held up an anti-war sign on live Russian TV.
During a live news broadcast on Russia's state-run TV Channel One on Monday (March 14), a woman suddenly appeared behind the newscaster and held up a sign that featured the Ukrainian and Russian flags, the words "No war" in English, and the lines "Don't believe propaganda. They are lying to you here" in Russian and "Russians against war" in both languages.
The protestor could be heard shouting "Stop the war. No to war" while the news anchor continued to read from the teleprompter without pause or a change in demeanor. Within five seconds, the control room crew cut to random scenes from a hospital. The woman was identified by OVD-Info as Marina Ovsyannikova, who is an employee of the pro-Kremlin channel.
In his nightly video address, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that he was grateful to "those Russians who do not stop trying to convey the truth, to those who fight disinformation and tell the truth — real facts to their friends and loved ones." He added that he was personally grateful to the "woman who entered the studio of Channel One with a poster against the war."
On Tuesday morning, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) retweeted the video of the woman's protest and praised her for having the "courage to be the voice of conscience." He then called for an end to the war, for "the crimes" to stop, and for the world to "stand with Ukraine."
