The European Union said on Friday, May 17, that suspends distribution of four Russian-linked media outlets in EU countries, despite Moscow's warning that any such move would entail “lightning-fast” sanctions. retaliatory measures.
The ban applies to the Voice of Europe, the RIA Novosti news agency, the Izvestia newspapers. and “Rossiyskaya Gazeta” on the grounds that they “played an important role in fomenting and supporting Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine,” the European Council said in a statement, reports Reuters.
The measure is part of the planned 14th package of sanctions against Russia due to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The bloc previously imposed sanctions on Russian state media outlets Russia Today and Sputnik.
The EU signaled earlier this week that it was planning such a move. This forced the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, to issue a warning: “We will respond with lightning speed and extremely painfully for Westerners.” It is still unclear how Moscow will respond.
In an interview with Izvestia The head of the international department of the Union of Journalists of Russia (SJR), Timur Shafir, called the EU ban “lawless” and stated that this issue should have been decided by the court. He said the ban would prevent Russian-speaking people in parts of Europe once under Soviet control from accessing so-called “alternative information.” about world events.
Prepared by: Sergey Daga