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EU to ban RT and Sputnik

27 Feb, 2022 16:51


European Commission president announces bloc-wide ban on Russian media outlets

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Sunday that the EU will ban the Russian media outlets RT and Sputnik accusing them of spreading “harmful disinformation.” She did not specify whether this ban will apply solely to television broadcasts, or whether RT and Sputnik’s websites will be affected.

In what she called an “unprecedented” step, von der Leyen announced that “we will ban in the European Union the Kremlin’s media machine.”

“The state owned Russia Today and Sputnik, as well as their subsidiaries, will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war and to sow division in our union,”[/b] she continued. [b]“We are developing tools to ban toxic and harmful disinformation in Europe.”

Von der Leyen’s move comes a day after the Association of European Journalists called on the EU to implement a bloc-wide ban on RT, and have its journalists “removed.” It also comes several days after the EU sanctioned RT’s editor-in-chief, Margarita Simonyan.

Simonyan responded to the latest ban by declaring that “not a single person who faithfully worked and continues to work for us will be laid off in any country.”

We know how to do our job in the conditions of bans. These freedom-loving people have been preparing us for this for eight years.

RT has previously faced censorship in Europe, with German regulators banning its German-language channel earlier this month. More recently, Google subsidiary YouTube and Facebook parent company Meta demonetized RT’s accounts on Saturday, while Google blocked downloads of RT’s app on Ukrainian territory earlier on Sunday.

Immediately before announcing the ban on RT and Sputnik, von der Leyen revealed that the EU will also close off its airspace to all Russian aircraft, and will supply Ukraine with weapons.

U.S. urges its citizens to consider leaving Russia immediately

February 27, 2022
9:37 PM GMT+1
Last Updated an hour ago

WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - U.S. citizens should consider leaving Russia immediately on commercial flights, the State Department said on Sunday, citing an increasing number of airlines cancelling flights and countries closing their airspace to Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.


"U.S. citizens should consider departing Russia immediately via commercial options still available," said a security alert dated Feb. 27 on the web site of U.S. embassy in Moscow

It has asked U.S. citizens to have "a contingency plan that does not rely on U.S. government assistance."

Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the biggest assault on a European state since World War Two, has unleashed a barrage of Western reprisals, with U.S. and European governments imposing sanctions on Russian banks and financial institutions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the attack a "special operation" through which he aims to demilitarise Moscow's southern neighbor.

The State Department has kept its travel advisory for Russia at "Level 4: Do Not Travel". On Feb. 20, the U.S. embassy in Moscow had advised Americans in the country to have an evacuation plan, citing the threat of attacks in Moscow and along the Russian border with Ukraine.

Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Will Dunham

France urges its citizens making short-term visits to Russia to leave

PARIS, Feb 27 (Reuters) - All French citizens on short-term visits to Russia should leave the country immediately, the French government said on Sunday, citing tightening restrictions on air travel resulting from sanctions punishing Moscow for invading Ukraine.

"Due to the increasing restrictions on air traffic between Russia and Europe, it is strongly recommended that French nationals visiting Russia make arrangements to leave the country without delay using existing air links," the French Foreign Ministry said.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the biggest assault on a European state since World War Two, has unleashed a barrage of Western reprisals.

Air France said it was suspending all flights to and from Russia until further notice.

The United States also said its citizens should consider leaving Russia immediately on the commercial flights still available.

Bekee1994:
Whenever I hear klitchisko, I remember our akwa-Ibom brother wey go dare am
Where is him now