On 6 March 2022, U.S. Congress-funded media outlet RFE/RL said it was closing its office in Moscow. The office was the base in Russia of the media’s Russian service, as well that of several regional RFE/RL services working within Russia. The decision came as authorities filed a bankruptcy request against RFE/RL with a Moscow court, in apparent relation to the media’s reporting on the war in Ukraine. In a statement, the media also said that it had become difficult to continue working within Russia following the beginning of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine, due to repressive legislation according to which journalists could be fined or imprisoned for war-related publications.