US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty suspends operations in Russia

In the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war and the latest laws restricting Russia's press as declared by President Vladimir Putin, on Sunday, the United States-funded media houses Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) has suspended its operations in Russia. The broadcaster's services stand curtailed as a foreign agent in Russia after tax authorities initiated bankruptcy proceedings against the media house on March 4, 2022, in what is termed as 'an assault on the truth". "It is with the deepest regret that I announce the suspension of our physical operations in Moscow today," RFE/RL CEO Jamie Fly stated in a press release. "This is not a decision that RFE/RL has taken of its own accord, but one that has been forced upon by the Putin regime's assault on the truth," he added. 

The aforesaid news broadcasters have called off their operations across Putin's homeland owing to restrictions on independent reporting and constraints on the freedom of the press. Also, reports suggest that RFE claimed its employees/journalists were threatened and the suspension is subsequent to 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'. 

The suspension comes after Vladimir Putin sanctioned a regulation on March 4 that threatens a 15-year-old jail term for reporters who spread 'disinformation' about the Russian-led invasion of Ukraine, including calling it a 'war' and not a 'special military operation'. 

RFE/RL's full statement:

"It is with the deepest regret that I announce the suspension of our physical operations in Moscow today. This is not a decision that RFL/RE has taken of its own accord, but one that has been forced upon us by the Putin regime's assault on the truth. Following years of threats, intimidation and harassment of our journalists, the Kremlin, desperate to prevent Russian citizens from knowing the truth about its illegal war in Ukraine, is now branding honest journalists as traitors to the Russian state. We will continue to expand our reporting for Russian audiences and will use every platform possible to reach them at a time when they need our journalism more than ever. Despite this bleak moment, we know from our organisation's 70-year history that one day, perhaps sooner than many think, we will be able to reopen a bureau in Russia. Time is on the side of liberty, even in Vladimir Putin's Russia."

Image: AP/Twitter_@SecBlinken