DUBAI: Ukraine has granted citizenship to prominent Russian journalist Alexander Nevzorov who fled Russia with his wife after denouncing the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, a senior Ukrainian official said on Friday.
Russia has been seeking the arrest of Nevzorov, accusing him of spreading false information about what Moscow portrays as its “special military operation” in Ukraine. He and his wife fled Russia in March.
Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian interior minister said the authorities in Kyiv had granted citizenship to Nevzorov and his wife Lydia.
Nevzorov confirmed he had received Ukrainian citizenship in a statement on Telegram messenger in which he said Russia’s war was a crime and Ukraine its victim.
“I take the side of the victim. And I am damn grateful to those tormented, desperate, bloodied people of Ukraine who allowed me to take my place among them,” he said.
Russia launched an investigation against Nevzorov, whose YouTube channel has over 1.8 million subscribers, after he reported that Russian forces had deliberately shelled a maternity hospital in the city of Mariupol.
Russia has denied the bombing accusing Ukraine of a “staged provocation.”
The investigation was launched after Russia in March passed a law that envisages jail terms of up to 15 years for intentionally spreading “fake” news about Russia’s military.
Last December, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law that simplified the acquisition of Ukrainian citizenship for Russians who are persecuted for political reasons in their own country.
The president’s office did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Millions of people have been displaced and thousands killed in what Kyiv and the West say is a war of aggression and what Moscow describes as a campaign to disarm its southern neighbor and root out people it calls dangerous nationalists.
Ukraine grants citizenship to top Russian journalist who denounced war
https://arab.news/88vb6
Ukraine grants citizenship to top Russian journalist who denounced war
- Russia has been seeking the arrest of Nevzorov, accusing him of spreading false information
- Nevzorov confirmed he had received Ukrainian citizenship in a statement on Telegram messenger
Tucker Carlson claims he was detained at Israeli airport
DUBAI: Earlier this week, Tucker Carlson flew to Israel to interview US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, according to media reports.
Carlson, who reportedly refused to leave Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport complex, conducted the interview at the airport, after which he said he and his staff were detained and their passports were seized.
“Men who identified themselves as airport security took our passports, hauled our executive producer into a side room and then demanded to know what we spoke to Ambassador Huckabee about,” Carlson said in a statement to The New York Post.
However, Carlson’s claims have been contradicted by Huckabee and Israeli authorities.
Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor and Fox News host, said on social media platform X that “EVERYONE who comes in/out of Israel (every country for that matter) has passports checked & routinely asked security questions,” including himself, despite holding a diplomatic passport and visa.
Thanks @EFischberger for a more accurate report. EVERYONE who comes in/out of Israel (every country for that matter) has passports checked & routinely asked security questions. Even ME going in/out with Diplomatic Passport & Diplomatic Visa. https://t.co/UbblLiznMO
— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) February 18, 2026
The US Embassy in Israel also described the interaction as routine passport control procedures.
The Israel Airports Authority said in a statement that Carlson and his staff “were not detained, delayed, or interrogated.”
They were asked “a few routine questions, in accordance with standard procedures applied to many travelers,” and this conversation took place in a separate room within the VIP lounge to protect their privacy, the statement added.
“No unusual incident occurred, and the Israel Airports Authority firmly rejects any other claims.”
Israeli Airports Authority:
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) February 18, 2026
Contrary to the reports, Tucker Carlson and his entourage were not detained, delayed, or interrogated.
Mr. Carlson and his party were politely asked a few routine questions, in accordance with standard procedures applied to many travelers.
The…
Carlson has faced criticism in recent years over his commentary on Israel, with critics accusing him of amplifying narratives that are hostile to Israel and, at times, antisemitic. He has also questioned Israel’s treatment of Christian communities in the region.
After Fox News canceled his show in April 2023, he launched his own program, “The Tucker Carlson Show” in 2024.
The show has featured controversial figures, including Darryl Cooper, who has made statements widely condemned as Holocaust denial, and white nationalist commentator Nick Fuentes.
In his interview with Fuentes, Carlson labeled Huckabee a “Christian Zionist.”
Carlson has also criticized Huckabee for not doing enough to protect Christian interests in the region. In one video, he said: “Why not go ahead and talk to Christians and find out their side of the story? Why aren’t American Christian leaders like Mike Huckabee or Ted Cruz, people who invoke the Christian Bible to justify what they’re doing, why haven’t they done this?”
Huckabee responded to the video on X, writing: “Instead of talking ABOUT me, why don’t you come talk TO me? You seem to be generating a lot of heat about the Middle East. Why be afraid of the light?”
Carlson accepted the invitation, and their teams coordinated the interview, leading to his brief visit to Israel.
