Russian radio station taken off air over Ukraine coverage

A Russian radio station has been taken off the air after authorities threatened to shut it down over coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

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A Russian radio station critical of the Kremlin was taken off the airwaves on Tuesday, its chief editor said and the Associated Press confirmed, after authorities threatened to shut it down over the coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The move against Echo Moskvy, one of Russia’s oldest radio stations, comes amid growing pressure on Russia’s independent media to follow the Kremlin's official line while covering the invasion of Ukraine.

Officials also threatened to block Dozhd, Russia’s top independent TV channel. The Prosecutor General’s office accused the two media outlets of spreading content that incites extremist activities, as well as “false information regarding the actions of Russian military personnel as part of a special operation” in Ukraine.

Shortly after Moscow invaded Ukraine on Thursday, Russian officials threatened independent media with closure if their coverage of the attack deviated from the official narrative, including describing the assault as an “invasion” or a “war.”

The website of the Current Time, a Russian TV channel launched by the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that also has been critical of the Kremlin, became unavailable Sunday after the channel reported receiving a notification from the authorities.