THE SUN's Defence Editor Jerome Starkey has blasted Vladimir Putin and said he won't stop reporting on Russia's atrocities. A court in Russia's Kursk border region has issued an arrest warrant for Jerome, 43, and put him on an international wanted list. The award-winning journalist was asked by host Susanna Reid on Good Morning Britain today: "Are you nervous?". Jerome replied that he is not nervous and that he will not "stop reporting honestly and fairly" on what's happening in Ukraine.

He said: "It's really clear a Russian court putting me on a wanted list is an act of political theatre. "It's an attempt to scare me and intimidate journalists like me who might cover the war in Ukraine. "Ultimately by covering the war in Ukraine we are bringing to the attention of your viewers and our readers the atrocities that are being committed in a totally unnecessary conflict that Vladimir Putin has started.".

Jerome added: "I don't want to dismiss it. It's not my goal to provoke the Kremlin. "Equally it is my objective to report honestly and fairly on what's happening in Ukraine. I'm not going to stop doing that.". The Kursk regional court accused Jerome of illegally crossing the border into Russia. His coverage of the war has taken him across Ukraine but the court ruling was prompted by his reporting from inside Russia.

Jerome said it was a clear attempt at intimidation. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) had petitioned the court saying a British citizen had entered Russia from Ukraine to film a report in August last year. Downing Street condemned the arrest warrant calling it an example of "desperate rhetoric" from Putin's administration. "It's just another example of desperate rhetoric from Putin's government. Of course, we condemn it," the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.

British journalists "shine a light into some of the darkest corners of the world, uncovering atrocities", he added. By Jerome Starkey. REPORTING from war zones is the best and worst job in the world. I see horrific things and sometimes get scared witless. But I get to tell amazing stories about ordinary people caught up in a conflict. I won't be stopped by the bully-boy threats from a sham Russian court in Kursk.

I have reported in these pages about innocent people maimed by cluster bombs. We have given a voice to pensioners living in a Kharkiv bathroom because it is the only room without windows or outside walls that could be blown to bits by missiles. We have told stories of babies born in bunkers. Stories of parents who rescued stolen children from thousands of miles behind the front line. Stories of civilians forced to wear uniforms to defend loved ones.

Stories of soldiers slain in blood-soaked trenches. And I have interviewed captured Russian troops — some of them convicts press-ganged into Storm Z battalions. In August I had the extraordinary chance to visit Kursk, captured in Ukraine's surprise attack. It was Russia's worst loss on home soil since WW2. Russia claims my trip was a crime. It's absurd. The Leninsky District Court said I crossed the border illegally.

What did they expect? For me to stop at the border, as drones swarmed overhead, and get my passport stamped?. What Russia really wants is to bury proper journalism, to stop reporters shedding light on Putin's war crimes. It won't work. We did our jobs. We did journalism. And ­journalism is not a crime. "Jerome Starkey's award-winning reporting from inside Ukraine, exposing the details of Russia's illegal war for millions of readers, is no different.

"And if the Kremlin cannot withstand the British newspaper highlighting Ukraine's brave defence of its freedom, then frankly, Putin should roll back his tanks, withdraw his forces, and end the suffering of Ukrainian and Russian people. "We will always stand with Ukraine, we will always stand by our free and fearless press.". Jerome said it was "nice to feel wanted" but noted that Russia has a record of targeting Western journalists.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was released in August after more than a year in prison. He said: "This is clearly an attempt to shut down anyone who criticises the Russian invasion of Ukraine - and one that will not work. "They are trying to intimidate me and other journalists covering this brutal war. "But it is vital that journalists shine a light on Vladmir Putin's horrific invasion of Ukraine.".