Two independent news outlets who have refused to toe the Kremlin’s line following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine were forced off the air this week.
Russian authorities accused Ekho Moskvy, one of the country’s oldest radio stations, and Dozhd, Russia’s top independent TV channel, of “false information regarding the actions of Russian military personnel as part of a special operation” in Ukraine.
Alexei Venediktov, editor-in-chief of Ekho Moskvy, wrote that the accusations “are not supported by any examples, any evidence… are unfounded and insulting to journalists and citizens of Russia,” adding that the order will be challenged in court.
Dozhd TV’s chief editor, Tikhon Dzyadko, said that he fled Russia along with several of his colleagues over concerns for their safety.
“After the illegal blockage of Dozhd’s site, Dozhd’s accounts in several social networks, as well as threats addressed to some of our employees, it became obvious that the personal safety of some of us is now under threat,” Dzyadko wrote on telegram Wednesday, according to Radio Free Europe.
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State Department spokesperson Ned Price appeared on Dozhd on Tuesday morning and criticized Russian authorities’ move shuttering the outlet.
“We condemn the Kremlin’s shuttering of independent media outlets like these in an effort to stifle dissent against its premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustifiable attack against Ukraine,” Price said Tuesday.
Aside from censoring media, Russian authorities have also detained at least 7,624 people for protesting against the invasion of Ukraine, according to the human rights group OVD-Info.
Alexey Navalny, a jailed Kremlin critic who was poisoned in 2020, called Putin an “obviously insane czar” and said Russians should protest his invasion.
“We must, gritting our teeth and overcoming fear, come out and demand an end to the war,” Navalny wrote on Twitter through a spokesperson on Tuesday. “Each arrested person must be replaced by two newcomers.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
