On 4 April 2022, the Ukrainian national Consortium of Radio Broadcasting, Radio Communications and Television (KRRT) disconnected Channel 5, Espreso and Pryamyy TV stations from a digital broadcasting network, replacing it with Rada, the channel of the Ukrainian parliament. KRRT claimed the decision was based only on technical criteria, and that the three channels would still be able to access the so-called “united news marathon”, a common news broadcasting platform initiated by Ukrainian TV channels and managed by Ukrainian regulators. The news marathon was created by major Ukrainian news outlets following the start of Russia’s large-scale invasion on 24 February 2022. According Espreso, Channel 5 and Pryamyy TV, they are in practice barred from accessing the “united news marathon”. The channels in question, which are all owned by political opponents of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, said the move amounted to censorship.