Russia (Washington Insider Magazine)— Russia has banned 81 media outlets from European Union countries in response to the EU’s recent broadcast bans on several Russian state media outlets. This move follows the EU’s decision in May to block four Russian media channels, accusing them of spreading propaganda related to the war in Ukraine.
Russia’s Response
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the ban on Tuesday, targeting media outlets from 25 EU countries, including major pan-European platforms like Politico. The ministry stated that the outlets being blocked were “systematically disseminating false information about the progress” of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The ministry also issued a warning, saying, “Politically motivated harassment of domestic journalists and unfounded bans on Russian media in the EU will not go unnoticed.” It characterized its response as “proportionate” and blamed EU leadership for escalating the media conflict.
Russia indicated that it is open to lifting the ban if the EU reverses its restrictions on Russian media outlets.
Impacted Outlets
Prominent outlets affected include France’s Agence France-Presse (AFP), Le Monde, and Liberation newspapers, alongside Germany’s Der Spiegel, Spain’s El Pais and El Mundo, Finland’s Yle, Ireland’s RTE, and Italy’s RAI television channel and La Repubblica newspaper.
Last month, the EU branded Russian media such as Voice of Europe, the RIA news agency, and Izvestia as “Kremlin-linked propaganda networks” and revoked their broadcasting rights in the bloc.
Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of Russia’s State Duma and a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, criticized the EU’s actions in May, arguing that the West, while claiming to uphold free speech, refuses to tolerate alternative viewpoints.
