Russia Closes Independent Media For Calling Ukraine Attack A War

Ever since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine last week, Russian media outlets have been banned from calling it what it is – a war.

Photo Insert: Ekho Moskvy, one of Russia’s oldest independent radio stations, was closed permanently

Instead, they have to refer to the indiscriminate attacks and bombing of Ukrainian cities as “a special operation,” the Kremlin insists, Aleksandar Brezar reported for Euronews.

Authorities have not shied away from penalizing those who do not adhere to this directive by broadcasting or publishing content stating otherwise or reporting the truth. Ekho Moskvy, one of Russia’s oldest independent radio stations, was closed permanently, its board of directors announced on Thursday morning.

By the afternoon the same day, Dozhd — the country’s most popular independent channel — also announced its closure, although they insist it is a temporary suspension. On Friday morning, Meduza, a leading international investigative outlet, and Radio Svoboda, Radio Free Europe's Russian branch, was also outlawed by the country’s media regulator, Roskomnadzor.

“Censorship has been officially introduced in Russia,” Meduza’s editorial predicted on Wednesday.

"Perhaps in a few days, there will be no functioning independent media in the country.”

The Friday decision also cut access to the Russian-language editions of the BBC and Deutsche Welle (DW), with the latter already being banned in Russia since last month and its reporters forced to stop working. In concert, the Duma passed a bill introducing sentences of up to 15 years in prison for intentionally spreading what they deem as “fake” information about military action.

Using terms like “invasion,” “attack,” or “act of war” were explicitly mentioned as unacceptable by the authorities.

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