A Russian journalist for the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta has revealed that her reporting on the invasion of Ukraine led to an assassination order being issued against her. The journalist, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described how she crossed into Ukraine on the night of 25 February and spent four weeks reporting from the border, Odesa, Mykolaiv and occupied Kherson.
In Kherson, she uncovered details of kidnappings and torture by Russian soldiers, identifying 44 kidnapped people and their circumstances. She published her findings and passed evidence to the Ukrainian prosecutor general's office. She then planned to travel to Mariupol, where active combat was ongoing, but was warned by a colleague that Chechen Kadyrovite forces had orders to find and kill her, and that the order had been approved.
The journalist said a source from Ukrainian military reconnaissance confirmed the assassination plot, and that her description had been sent to every Russian checkpoint. Novaya Gazeta's editor-in-chief, Dmitry Muratov, urged her to leave Ukraine immediately. The paper later received demands from Russian authorities to remove her reporting from its website, which it complied with to avoid being blocked.
Despite the threats, the journalist attempted to find alternative routes into Mariupol but was ultimately stopped by the active combat. She described feeling crushed by the censorship of her work, but later experienced rage that filled her entire being. She has not published the full details of her experiences to protect those who helped save her life.
