Kremlin defends new media law after investigators probe journalist over Ukraine conflict

- The Kremlin said on Wednesday that it was vital to apply a new law which could see journalists jailed for up to 15 years for deliberately spreading false information, after investigators opened a criminal case against a prominent reporter.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the specific case of journalist Alexander Nevzorov, whom investigators late on Tuesday accused of deliberately spreading knowingly false information about the actions of the Russian military in Ukraine.

But when asked about Nevzorov's case, Peskov said the new law had to be applied because of what he described as an acute information war being waged against Russia.