U.S. blasts Russia’s media crackdown amid invasion

The United States (U.S.) government on Thursday accused Moscow of cracking down on media amid Russia’s war on Ukraine.

“At home, the Kremlin is engaged in a full assault on media freedom and the truth, and Moscow’s efforts to mislead and suppress the truth of the brutal invasion are intensifying,” U.S. State Department spokesperson, Ned Price, said in a statement.

Earlier in the week, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office asked media regulator, Roskomnadzor, to restrict access to the website of Kremlin-critical radio station, Ekho Moskvy, or Echo of Moscow.

Authorities had previously accused Ekho and other critical media of spreading false information about Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

Moscow officially called the invasion of Ukraine a “military operation” and has banned media from using terms like “attack” or “invasion.”

The online channel Dozhd was also threatened with being blocked.

“Ekho Moskvy has been respected for its even-handed treatment of breaking news since its founding 32 years ago, and until yesterday, its broadcasts reached some 1.8 million daily listeners throughout Russia and beyond.

“Dozhd, which has been operating for more than a decade, is similarly known for high-quality reporting,” Price said.

Price added that Moscow was “also throttling Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram platforms that tens of millions of Russia’s citizens relied on to access independent information and opinions and to connect with one another and the outside world.”

He also said the Russian parliament was set to meet in a special session on Friday.

The meeting is to “consider a bill that would make ‘unofficial’ reporting on Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine punishable by up to 15 years in prison”.

“The people of Russia did not choose this war, Russian President, Vladimir Putin did.”

Price added that Russians had a right to know about the death, suffering and destruction being inflicted by their government on the people of Ukraine” as well as about “the human costs of this senseless war to their own soldiers”.

Washington again called on Putin to withdraw his troops from Ukraine and immediately cease the bloodshed.