Russia bans its citizens from Internet access to 81 European media | International

The Russian government has banned Internet access to 81 European media, including the Spanish EL PAÍS, Efe agency, RTVE and. World. The Russian Foreign Ministry justifies this decision by the European veto of three media controlled by the Kremlin in the latest package of sanctions approved by Brussels for the invasion of Ukraine. “In response, access to news from the territory of Russia is restricted for a number of EU media outlets that systematically spread false information about the progress of the special military operation – the offensive launched by the Kremlin against Kiev two years ago and three months ago – ”, said the department led by Minister Sergei Lavrov.

This ban opens another chapter in one of the conflicts associated with the war in Ukraine, information. Earlier, Russia declared American Public Media an undesirable organization Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)which also implies a prison sentence for giving an interview or sharing its content on social networks. Similarly, Moscow also blocked internet access to the British channel BBC and German channel Deutsche Welle in response to the ban on Russia Today and other pro-Kremish media. Artificial satellite Broadcast in the United Kingdom and the European Union.

The media blocked by the EU are the state news agency RIA Novosti; the government’s official newspaper, Rossiyskaya Gazeta; and newspapers Izvestiatransferred in 2008 by the Kremlin’s gas arm, Gazprom, to the National Media Group, a holding company Public-private in which many oligarchs related to Vladimir Putin participate. The president of this forum is former Olympic gymnast Alina Kabayeva, whom the Russian independent press romantically links to the Russian president.

Russia, for its part, will restrict its population’s access to many media outlets from the bloc’s 25 countries, as well as a handful of European projects such as Agence Europe and EUobserver. The sanctions affect all types of press, from German newspapers to Der Spiegel For Italian Republic and Maltese Malta Today. France is one of the countries most affected by the Russian response, with restrictions on several media outlets, including Le Monde, Le Figaro, Liberation and the France Presse agency.

“The responsibility for this development of events lies entirely with the EU leaders and the countries that supported the decision,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “If the ban on Russian media is lifted, the Russian side will also reconsider its decision with regard to the operators of the mentioned media,” it added.

The measure was announced on the eve of a closed-door hearing against the reporter The Wall Street Journal Ivan Gershkovich in Moscow. The US journalist was arrested in the city of Yekaterinburg in late March 2023 while he was running a series of reports on the Wagner mercenary group and the Russian military industry. Gershkovich could face up to 20 years in prison, and another Russian-American journalist Alsou Kurmasheva is also on trial for failing to recognize herself as a foreign agent.

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Blocking beliefs

Likewise, several correspondents of the now banned European media have already been expelled from Russia during the past year. These are the cases, for example, of Javier Colas Worldand Eva Hartog, from Political. Other journalists have been expelled from the country through their own means for security reasons. According to sources familiar with the situation, the process of new accreditation for journalists between Russia and some European countries is also blocked due to their mutual blockade.

However, Russian journalists are bearing the brunt of the information war. Apart from eliminating all independent media in the country, several Russian journalists working for Western media have been detained in recent months. These include three colleagues of the magazine Forbes and news agencies Associated Press and Reuters.

Despite the media ban, in practice Russians continue to have access to restricted websites thanks to the use of VPN (Virtual Private Network) applications on their devices. The most illustrative examples are social networks such as X, Instagram and Facebook. All three are banned by the Russian Federal Telecommunications Agency, Roskomnadzor, and even the last two platforms mentioned are part of the Meta group, which was declared an extremist organization by the Kremlin in 2022. However, the official accounts of the government and many members of the elite they continue to use these communication channels.

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