Russia has blocked a series of independent media outlets for violating rules on coverage of the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Roskomnadzor state media watchdog announced that it was blocking RFE/RL’s Current Time Russian language TV channel, its Krim.Realii Crimea-focussed service, and the New Times news website.
The agency also blocked a series of Ukrainian media, including Interfax Ukraine’s Russian-language service.
Roskomnadzor had previously threatened outlets with blocks if they used any information apart from official Russian Defense Ministry announcements in their reporting on the war in Ukraine.
Russian state media have described the country’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine as a “special operation”, aimed at protecting Russian-speakers in the east of the country. Official Roskomnadzor guidelines ban use of the words “war,” “offensive,” and “invasion” to describe the events.
The independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper has said that Roskomnadzor has ordered it to delete an article for violating its rules.
Russia’s bombardment of Kyiv and other cities has not been widely covered by state media.
Until yesterday, the Russian Defense Ministry had not admitted suffering any casualties. On Sunday, the ministry announced that its forces had suffered an unspecified number of losses.
