MOSCOW, October 21. /TASS/. UK journalist Graham Phillips was provided with temporary asylum in Russia, Russian Ministry of the Interior Irian Volk said.

"My colleagues from the ‘Oktyabrsky’ Lugansk People’s Republic Ministry department presented renowned journalist, British citizen Graham Philipps with a notification of provision of temporary asylum on Russian territory," she said on her Telegram channel.

Speaking in an interview with TASS, Phillips expressed his gratitude to Russian President Vladimir Putin for the provided asylum and said that he is currently in Donbass, adding that he plans to continue working there.

In July, 2022, Philipps was blacklisted by the UK over the situation in Ukraine as a "video blogger, who created and published media content supporting and promoting actions and policies that destabilize Ukraine and threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine or undermining them."

In 2014, Phillips was working in eastern Ukraine. Together with ANNA News cameraman Vadim Aksyonov, he was considered missing in action near the Donetsk airport. Later, they were found in Ukrainian captivity. After Philipps was released, Kiev banned him from entering Ukraine for three years.