This brave Russian editor says he feels ashamed of Putin's invasion of Ukraine

The editor-in-chief of Moscow-based newspaper Novaya Gazeta spoke defiantly on Thursday of his "shame" for Russia's ground invasion of Ukraine, saying Friday's edition would be published in Ukrainian and Russian.

Dmitry Muratov - editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta - said that the unprovoked assault on Ukraine has effectively pushed Russia toward nuclear war and only a Russian anti-war movement could save the planet.

Muratov - who was one of two 2021 Nobel Peace Prize winners  - heads one of the few critical outlets of Putin left Russia.

In a video posted to Novaya Gazeta's website and social media pages, Muratov said his team felt "grief" and "shame" over the unprovoked invasion.

He said he feared that Putin was taking Russia towards a "nuclear salvo". 

Friday's edition of his newspaper will be published in Russian and in Ukrainian, Muratov said, "because we do not recognise Ukraine as an enemy, or the Ukrainian language as the language of the enemy".

His comments come after Russian ground forces invaded Ukraine from several directions, including occupied Crimea, and hours later broke into the Kyiv region, according to the Ukrainian border agency.

Russia was ranked 150th of 180 countries on Reporters Without Borders' 2021 World Press Freedom Index.

Scores of journalists working at several Russian outlets bravely signed an open letter on Thursday to condemn the invasion. 

More than 100 municipal deputies from across Russia signed a similar letter, Novaya Gazeta reported.

Russia's government is notorious for cracking down on voices of dissent.

Moscow's assault on freedom of expression hit headlines last year when it was accused of poisoning opposition politician Alexei Navalny.

Navalny, currently held in a Russian prison, has condemned the invasion of Ukraine, calling it a distraction from Russia's internal issues.