On 27 March 2022, Russia’s internet regulator and censor Roskomnadzor published a short message on its website, informing Russian media that they were “required to restrain from publishing” an interview Volodymyr Zelensky recently gave to a group of Russian independent media. Roskomnadzor did not explain the move, saying only that some of the media who interviewed Zelensky had been declared “foreign agents” in Russia. Since the start of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, publishing war-related information not based on official Russian sources can be considered “fake news” or “discreditation” of the Russian army, which entails fines or prison terms.
Russia-Ukraine WarCensorship and regulationPublication ban, take-down order or forced deletion, fine, administrative action