Ekaterina Barabash, a Russian journalist critical of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, said on Monday that she fled to France after Reporters Without Borders (RSF) smuggled her out of Russia.

"I fled — I had no other choice. Journalism no longer exists in Russia," Ukrainian-born Barabash, who faces up to 10 years in prison for criticizing the Russian army, told a news conference at the media watchdog's headquarters in Paris.

"There is no culture in Russia. There is no politics. It's only war," she said, adding that the very concept of a "Russian journalist" no longer made sense. "There are no Russian journalists," she said. "Journalism cannot exist under totalitarianism."

Barabash said her journey was "very difficult" and lasted around two-and-a-half weeks. "I arrived three days ago," she said, adding that she was going to ask for political asylum.

RSF sends a message to the Kremlin

RSF director general Thibaut Bruttin said Barabash's escape from Russia was "one of the most perilous operations" the RSF has been involved in since Russia's brutal clampdown on media in March 2022.

"At one point, we thought she might be dead," he said.

In Russia, it is broadly forbidden to criticize the army and its military operations in Ukraine. Bruttin said that Barabash's escape "sends a clear message to the Kremlin: free voices that dare to speak the truth about the war in Ukraine cannot be silenced. It is a message to journalists in danger: there is a way out, and RSF stands by your side," he added in a statement.

In April, two former DW journalists, Konstantin Gabov and Sergey Karelin, along with two other journalists, were sentenced to several years in prison in Russia on charges of extremism, that they denied. 

What do we know about Barabash and her arrest?

Ekaterina Barabash had written for several Russian news outlets and worked as a journalist for the Russian service of Radio France Internationale (RFI) until 2022, before joining the independent media outlet Republic.

She was detained at Moscow airport on February 25 as she was returning from the Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin. The authorities charged her with "spreading false information" about the Russian military based on four social media posts, one of which condemned Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The following day, a Moscow court ordered her to be placed under house arrest for two months. On April 4, the Russian Ministry of Justice labeled Barabash as a "foreign agent." 

This designation allows the authorities to monitor, restrict, and discredit journalists, NGOs, and ordinary citizens who are deemed to be "influenced by foreign interests." Deutsche Welle is also labeled a "foreign agent" in Russia.

Journalist flees house arrest

Russian authorities were alerted to Barabash's disappearance by an electronic monitoring system on April 13. Barabash said she removed her bracelet when she fled. "It's somewhere in the Russian forest," she said, smiling.

The reporter said she crossed the border on her birthday on April 26. and had been "hiding for two weeks" during her escape.

Fleeing house arrest is risky in Russia, but not unheard of. Former Russian state television journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, who protested the Ukraine conflict in a live broadcast, fled Russia in 2022 after escaping house arrest.

RSF ranks Russia 171st out of 180 countries in its 2025 World Press Freedom Index. 

Edited by: Darko Janjevic