Russian telecoms regulator Roskomnadzor has blocked the pages of at least 15 media outlets, AFP found on Wednesday, as Vladimir Putin’s regime tightens its grip on online reporting of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The sites of investigative news outlet Bellingcat, local Russian media and Russian-language media based in Israel and Ukraine were inaccessible in Russia on Wednesday without a virtual private network (VPN), AFP journalists found.
These pages also appear on the official list of pages blocked by Roskomnadzor.
Among the Russia-based sites that were blocked were the independent outlet Kavkazki Ouzel (Kavkaz-uzel.eu), which covers the Caucasus, and a regional outlet based in the Urals (permdaily.ru).
Roskomnadzor also suspended access to two Russophone outlets based in Israel, where there is a significant community that migrated from the former Soviet Union: 9 TV Channel Israel (www.9tv.co.il) and Vesty Israel (www.vesty.co. ill).
Ukrainian media (novosti.dn.ua; bukinfo.ua) and one from Estonia, which has a Russian version (Postimees), were also blocked.
Since the beginning of the offensive against Ukraine on February 24, the Russian authorities have multiplied their efforts to control the information published on the Internet.
Among others, the American networks Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have been blocked, as well as other Russophone media critical of the Kremlin.
Source: Gestion
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