The site also goes offline at the end of the war. Meanwhile, Russia has classified Deutsche Welle as a “foreign agent”.
Russia’s most important independent newspaper, the “Novaya Gazeta”, is temporarily suspended. This decision applies until the end of Russian military action in Ukraine, the newspaper said in a statement posted online on Monday. The print newspaper, website and all activities on online networks are affected.
An interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky may have played a role. In the approximately one-and-a-half-hour video chat, which the critical portal Meduza also published on Sunday night, he once again called for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory. Only in this way can there be security guarantees for Ukraine, which in turn are the basis for Ukraine’s resignation from NATO demanded by Moscow, underlined the Ukrainian head of state.
Among the Russian journalists who conducted the interview was a reporter from the well-known Moscow newspaper Kommersant. In addition, a question was asked on behalf of the editor-in-chief of the opposition “Novaya Gazeta”, Dmitry Muratov. Both newspapers initially did not publish Zelensky’s statements following threats from the Russian media regulator.
Roskomnadzor’s authority warned Russian media against publishing without giving reasons. In Russia, for example, the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops can only be officially described as a “special military operation”. In addition, a new media law provides for up to 15 years in prison for alleged false news about Russia’s armed forces.
The Meduza portal, which is blocked in Russia anyway, published the interview anyway. Zelensky also said in it: “Today, this month, there was a global, historical and cultural divide. It’s not just a war. I think it’s much worse.”
Deutsche Welle classified as a “foreign agent”.
Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Justice has classified Deutsche Welle as a “foreign agent”. He placed the German broadcaster abroad on a corresponding list of media organizations that are so-called in Russia and must provide all their publications with a legally required label. The Deutsche Welle website had already been blocked by state media regulator Roskomnadzor in early March over allegations of spreading false news about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(APA/AFP/Reuters)