Russia’s media regulator Roskomnadzor wants to prevent the publication of an interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “Roskomnadzor is notifying the Russian media of the need to refrain from publishing the interview,” the agency said in Moscow on Sunday. Roskomnadzor also announced a review of all media that conducted Zelensky’s interview to determine “the extent of responsibility and response measures”.
Among the Russian journalists who recently spoke to Zelenskyy via videoconference was a reporter for the well-known Moscow newspaper Kommersant. Meduza and Doschd media, whose pages are already blocked in Russia, were also represented. The Meduza portal published the approximately one-and-a-half-hour interview on Sunday night, despite the media regulator’s warning that it can still be reached through alternative internet connections and from abroad.
The editor-in-chief of the radio station Echo Moskvy, which has also since been closed, Alexei Venediktov, criticized on Telegram that the Russian media regulator did not even give reasons for its actions. After all, Selenskyj is the legitimate president of Ukraine – the Kremlin has always confirmed that, wrote Venediktov.