Cecilia Piccioni faced a “strong protest” over Italian broadcaster RAI’s reporting team which “illegally entered Russia to cover the criminal terrorist attack by Ukrainian soldiers against the Kursk region”, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Piccioni explained during the meeting that RAI, “and in particular the editorial teams, plan their activities in a totally free and independent way”, an Italian foreign ministry spokesman told AFP.

The Italian broadcaster’s main news programme aired a report on Wednesday, showing journalists driving across the border into Russia accompanied by Ukrainian military.

They were shown driving in an armoured vehicle past Russian road signs before arriving in the town of Sudzha, around 10 kilometres (six miles) from the border, where a journalist talked to local people.

Russia’s foreign ministry warned that the “actions by the Italian citizens fall under Russia’s criminal code”.

The ministry said that “the competent authorities are taking the necessary steps to establish all the circumstances of the crimes committed by the RAI staff to assess the legal position and take corresponding measures”.

Ukraine has claimed control of Sudzha after launching its surprise offensive into Russia last week.