The Kremlin has denounced as "completely unacceptable" the actions of Ukrainian authorities toward a reporter with Russia’s Channel One television.
Ukraine deported Aleksandra Cherepnina on July 1 for allegedly running "destructive" stories about Ukraine.
The State Security Service (SBU) said on July 2 it decided to "block the destructive actions” of Cherepnina and bar her from reentering the country for three years.
In a report about the deportation aired by Channel One, Cherepnina described being deprived by the SBU of a chance to call anyone after being detained.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ukraine had “long turned into a place where it is both hard and dangerous for reporters to work."
And Russia’s Investigative Committee announced it had launched an "illegal deprivation of liberty" probe into the incident.
Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said Ukrainian authorities “will never understand that you cannot conceal the truth by intimidating and killing reporters."
