RIA Novosti-Ukraine's actions are high treason - prosecutor general

The Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) have moved to the active phase of neutralizing the anti-Ukrainian activity of a Russian media entity, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko has said.

"Today the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the SBU moved to the active phase of neutralizing the anti-Ukrainian activities of another Russian media entity," he wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday.

According to Lutsenko, investigators have evidence of the realization of "well-paid anti-Ukrainian attacks by this entity [RIA Novosti-Ukraine], participation of Ukrainian citizens who simultaneously received Russian citizenship in this disinformation war."

The actions of these individuals fall under the signs of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - high treason, Lutsenko said.

According to earlier reports, representatives of the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the SBU on Tuesday raided the Kyiv offices of the RIA Novosti news agency.

According to the media, law enforcement officers detained Kyrylo Vyshynsky, the chief of the Ukrainian department of RIA Novosti.

In response to these investigative actions, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov promised that Moscow would take action in response.

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