Russian state TV applauds China’s spy balloon for overthrowing the United States

Russian state TV host Margarita Simonyan has applauded the alleged Chinese spy balloon that floated across the United States this week for upsetting the country during a recent broadcast.

The balloon, first spotted over Billings, Montana on Wednesday, captured the attention of millions of Americans last week, sparking national security concerns and fierce debate over whether whether the Biden administration should have been quicker to pull him out of the sky. The surveillance device was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday afternoon.

Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of Russia Today (RT) who frequently presents on Russian state television, praised China for allegedly sending the balloon into US airspace – although China maintains it is not It was just a weather balloon that was simply blown off track with no sinister purpose. The video of Simonyan’s remarks was translated and posted to Twitter on Sunday by journalist Julia Davis, founder of the Russian Media Monitor.

“I was also amused this week by the brilliant showdown between America and China,” Simonyan said. “Again huge respect to China for doing it beautifully.”

She lamented the extensive media coverage the ball received, specifically pointing to CNN.

“If you go to CNN international, all the coverage is about that. A little about the Aussie girl bitten by a shark. Something else about North Korean teenagers. And the rest about the ball, the ball, the ball,” Simonyan said. “When and how he should have been brought down, and a third ball caught by Venezuela or Guatemala.”

Simonyan praised China, which she said “succeeded in turning the whole country upside down.” She also added that the alleged spy balloon cover had distracted from the Russian-Ukrainian war, which will reach its first year later this month.

She also complained that the American media “knows nothing” about the conflict. However, Russian state television served as a propaganda machine for Russian President Vladimir Putin during the war, as the Kremlin cracked down on free speech in Russia last year.

Despite the dismissive remarks about the balloon, its presence violated international law as well as U.S. airspace and strained already strained U.S.-China relations. Following its discovery, Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a diplomatic meeting in Beijing.

Meanwhile, China decried the US military for shooting down the balloon.

“China will resolutely defend the legitimate rights and interests of the relevant company, while reserving the right to take further action in response,” China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement after it was knocked out. from the sky.

President Joe Biden ordered the balloon down on Saturday, after it flew across large swaths of the country and hovered over the Atlantic Ocean off Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He was criticized for not shooting it down sooner, but the Pentagon warned that the potential harm to civilians on the ground outweighed any potential intelligence China would receive.

Newsweek contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment.