Moscow expels two German journalists after 'expelling' Russian propagandists

Russia announced the expulsion of two journalists from the German media group ARD after Russian propagandists from Channel One complained about the German authorities' order to leave the country.

This was announced at a briefing by the press secretary of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, reports “European Pravda”.

Zakharova traditionally spoke about “unfriendly actions of official Berlin towards Russian media” and recalled Germany's “plots” against the so-called invited journalists from Russia.

“So, in response to the ban by the German authorities on the stay and work of Channel One correspondents, we are forced to adopt mirror measures against journalists from the Moscow office of the German media group ARD”, – she announced.

According to the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, the ARD correspondent and cameraman will have to return their accreditation certificates and leave Russia “within the established time frame”.

At the same time, Germany explained that the federal authorities did not expel Russian “journalists” and did not close the Channel One correspondent in Berlin, as propagandists claim.

After the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Western countries imposed sanctions against Russian propaganda media outlets that openly participate in subversive activities and disinformation campaigns.

Channel One has been under EU sanctions since December 2022, which include a ban on its broadcasting and retransmission, but not the work of its “journalists” in the European Union.