Zakharova called the awarding of a journalist from Italy who had infiltrated the Russian Federation a "bacchanal".

On April 13, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called it a "bacchanal" to award "For Freedom of the Press" to a journalist from Italy who illegally entered the Kursk region and filmed reports about militants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).

"In the Italian city of Fossoli, in a former concentration camp, Stefania Battistini, a special correspondent of the RAI state broadcasting company, was awarded the Odoardo Fokerini Prize for Freedom of the Press 2025 with pomp. For materials from Ukraine and the Kursk region," she wrote on the Telegram channel.

Zakharova noted that the journalist, along with the military of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, infiltrated the Court of the Kursk region, where she filmed several propaganda reports about the "heroism" of the Ukrainian militants who invaded Russian territory. In addition, she has repeatedly spread disinformation about the Russian Federation and justified the actions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry clarified that a criminal case had been opened against Batistini and her operator for illegally crossing the border of the Russian Federation. They were later put on the international wanted list.

Is "freedom of the press" in Italian today the freedom to call fascists heroes and receive awards on behalf of their victims? <...> This whole story is a real orgy, nothing more than a gross and inexcusable insult to the memory of the victims of Italian fascism and German Nazism," Zakharova summed up.

To inflict punishment: Putin called for investigating the crimes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kursk region

The allocation of assistance to affected citizens should also be under the control of prosecutors, the president said.

On April 9, Zakharova said that the West would not be able to hide the crimes of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region, and retribution would surely come. According to Zakharova, crimes against prisoners of war and civilians have no statute of limitations, so they cannot be justified by "political slogans."

In addition, on August 21, 2024, Zakharova stated that the Russian Federation controls every situation with illegal entry of Western journalists into the territory of the Russian Federation. She recalled that foreign media employees can visit Russia only after receiving the ministry's accreditation and the appropriate type of visa.