Russian journalists Viktor Zyryanov and Sergei Nosov have left Russia after their homes were searched last week as part of a probe against fugitive former lawmaker Ilya Ponomaryov, who currently resides in Ukraine.
Zyryanov told RFE/RL on September 12 that he and Nosov were now in neighboring Georgia.
Russian investigators say the two journalists are linked to Ponomaryov's February Morning YouTube channel, through which he has criticized Russia for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and called on Russian citizens to be armed and fight against the authorities at home.
"Most likely, they connected us to the probe against Ponomaryov because of our negative attitude to the war and because we always write and say what we think is necessary to say. We plan to return when the fascist regime goes down in Russia. We will try to speed that process up," Zyryanov said.
Zyryanov also said that he does not know his official status in the case, as his home was searched while he was out, adding that all his bank accounts were frozen.
The 47-year-old Ponomaryov was the lone lawmaker in parliament's lower chamber, the State Duma, who voted against Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
He fled Russia for the United States in 2014 and later moved to Ukraine, where he has lived since then.
