04:13Russia: People and ‘big country’ pushed for my release - journalist Vyshinsky *PARTNER CONTENT*
SCRIPT
Freed Russian journalist Kirill Vyshinsky gave an interview to RT about his release in Moscow on Monday.
“My fate is a matter of great political relations,” admitted the RIA Novosti Editor-in-Chief in Ukraine.
“I understood that these were the great efforts made by the Russian Foreign Ministry. I understood that it was the issue that Putin discussed with Merkel. So, I understood that the head of state discussed the issue related to me with another head of state,” he explained.
Vyshinsky was arrested in 2018 and accused of supporting pro-Russian separatists. The charge of treason carried a sentence of up to 15 years in prison. Vyshinsky spent more than a year in jail until his release as part of a prisoner swap.
He criticised former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko for having “spoiled” his country’s reputation by detaining journalists and threatening “freedom of speech”.
As for his successor, President Volodymyr Zelensky, the RIA Novosti chief called on him to have “political will and courage” to continue steps to ease tensions between Russia and Ukraine. He has previously said his top priority is ending the conflict which has torn his country apart since 2014.
04:13Must be used with RT logo only
SCRIPT
Freed Russian journalist Kirill Vyshinsky gave an interview to RT about his release in Moscow on Monday.
“My fate is a matter of great political relations,” admitted the RIA Novosti Editor-in-Chief in Ukraine.
“I understood that these were the great efforts made by the Russian Foreign Ministry. I understood that it was the issue that Putin discussed with Merkel. So, I understood that the head of state discussed the issue related to me with another head of state,” he explained.
Vyshinsky was arrested in 2018 and accused of supporting pro-Russian separatists. The charge of treason carried a sentence of up to 15 years in prison. Vyshinsky spent more than a year in jail until his release as part of a prisoner swap.
He criticised former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko for having “spoiled” his country’s reputation by detaining journalists and threatening “freedom of speech”.
As for his successor, President Volodymyr Zelensky, the RIA Novosti chief called on him to have “political will and courage” to continue steps to ease tensions between Russia and Ukraine. He has previously said his top priority is ending the conflict which has torn his country apart since 2014.