British journalist Graham Phillips, who has been covering the events in Donbas since 2014, has been granted temporary asylum in Russia, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Luhansk People's Republic Irina Volk announced on her Telegram channel.
In 2022, the UK sanctioned Phillips for “media content supporting and promoting actions and policies that destabilize Ukraine and undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence of Ukraine”. London's restrictions on the journalist include freezing accounts.
Phillips then said the UK had no real reason to put him on the sanctions list. He compared London's decision to the actions of the "banana republic bandits".
Phillips is a British citizen and previously worked as a freelance correspondent for RT in Ukraine. During his work in the country, he was detained twice by SBU officers. In 2016, Phillips was detained by the Latvian police during a procession of SS legionnaires in Riga, RIA Novosti reports.