The Russian authorities has ban Moscow Times for reporting the war in a manner that do not support the invasion of Ukraine, saying the media organisation is “undesirable”
The English-language publication has reported on Russia since 1992 but its
newsroom fled Russia after President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The ban exposes journalists and others linked to the publication and they risk criminal prosecution in Russia.
But reacting to the ban, the Moscow Times’ founder Derk Sauer said on X, formerly Twitter, late Wednesday that
“Of course, we will continue with our work: independent journalism.
“That’s a crime in Putin’s Russia.”
The Moscow Times moved its newsroom out of Russia shortly after the war began when lawmakers made it a criminal offense to “discredit” the military’s operations.
Other media organizations including Bloomberg News also left Russia at that time, while continuing to report on the war and its consequences.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is currently on trial in Russia, he is accused of espionage after he was detained during a reporting trip in Yekaterinburg in March last year.
The Moscow Times was first published in Russia in 1992 following the collapse of the Soviet Union, and switched to an online-only outlet in 2017. Russia’s Justice Ministry labeled it a “foreign agent” last year.
