Russia takes off the air two stations critical of Ukraine invasion

Russian officials have reportedly taken off the air a pair of news organizations that had been criticizing the country’s invasion of Ukraine 

Russia’s state media watchdog has been ordered to restrict access to independent television channel Dozhd TV and liberal radio station Ekho Moskvy, the AFP news agency reported on Tuesday, with officials accusing the outlets of broadcasting “deliberately false information” about its military efforts in Ukraine. 

The Kremlin has repeatedly sought to spread propaganda about why it has invaded Ukraine, ordering state media not to refer to the ongoing attacks in Ukraine as a “war” and falsely suggesting Ukraine and NATO-allied countries are the aggressors in the conflict. 

Earlier on Tuesday, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said Russian forces had attacked Kyiv’s main broadcasting tower so that “the enemy can spread [disinformation]” to “destabilize the situation” in the war-torn Eastern European country. 

Meanwhile, broadcasters in the United States are facing sharp pressure to stop carrying Russian-sponsored programming amid the ongoing effort from the Kremlin to paint Russia as a liberating force. 

“While the First Amendment protects freedom of speech, however, it does not prevent private actors from exercising sound, moral judgment,” the National Association of Broadcasters said in a statement on Tuesday. “While we know that airings of such programs are extremely limited, we believe that our nation must stand fully united against misinformation and for freedom and democracy across the globe.”

In Russia, hundreds of people protesting the invasion have been arrested in recent days as fighting continues in and around Ukraine’s largest cities, with Russian President Vladimir Putin threatening Western nations that give arms or aid to the Ukrainian resistance with consequences “you have never seen.”