3.5.22
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the US government-backed news service, suspended operations in Russia early on Sunday after tax authorities initiated bankruptcy proceedings against the news organizations in what the group called "an assault on the truth." "It is with the deepest regret that I announce the suspension of our physical operations in Moscow today," said RFE/RL President & CEO Jamie Fly in a statement. "This is not a decision that RFE/RL has taken of its own accord, but one that has been forced upon us by the Putin regime's assault on the truth." In a press release, RFE said that its journalists had been threatened and that the closure was the culmination of "a years-long pressure campaign against RFE/RL, which has maintained a physical presence in Russia since 1991 when it established its Moscow bureau at the invitation of then-President Boris Yeltsin."
Since invading Ukraine, Russia has blocked numerous Russian-language websites producing news content from abroad, including Meduza, BBC, Deutsche Welle and Voice of America. CNN, ABC and CBS are among the news organizations that have been forced to cease reporting in Russia after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on March 4 that imposes a 15-year prison sentence for those who spread "disinformation" about the war in Ukraine, including calling it a "war" and not a "special military operation."The Kremlin has also blocked access to Facebook and Twitter.
