ROME

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani summoned the Russian ambassador to Italy to express the government's objections after Russian authorities placed Italian journalist Stefania Battistini on their wanted list. Battistini, a reporter for the state-owned TV station RAI, is accused by Russia of illegally crossing the border from Ukraine in August.

At the time, Battistini and a crew of three other journalists entered Russia under Ukrainian military escort, reporting from the war-damaged Russian town of Sudzha in Kursk during Ukraine's incursion into the region. It was the first foreign media report from the area.

“I summoned the ambassador of the Russian Federation in Italy to the Ministry to convey our surprise at the curious decision by Moscow to include Battistini in the list of wanted people, as made public by the Russian Interior Ministry,” Tajani said in a statement on X.

Following the RAI report, Russia's FSB security service opened a criminal case against Battistini and another RAI journalist, Simone Traini, according to the Russian state news agency TASS.

Italy's journalist unions quickly denounced the move. "Journalism is not a crime. The possibility of Moscow putting Stefania Battistini and Simone Traini on trial is unacceptable. Reporting is not done with prior authorizations," RAI's journalists union Usigrai and Italy's national press union FNSI said in a joint statement.

The diplomatic incident adds to ongoing tensions between Italy and Russia since the war in Ukraine began. Rome has expressed its full support for Ukraine and has committed to helping rebuild the country's damaged infrastructure and historical sites.

Before the war, Italy and Russia had strong economic ties, bolstered by the personal friendship between former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

While many Italian companies continue to operate in Russia, their activities have been severely restricted by European sanctions, which Italy fully supports.