MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th March, 2021) The Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ) on Thursday expressed protest over Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's move to block several Russian media outlets, pledging to seek international condemnation of the censorship.
On Tuesday, Zelenskyy put into effect the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine to extend for three years sanctions against against 81 companies, including the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency, and 26 individuals, including 23 Russians. The presidential decree also introduced new sanctions targeting more Russian media outlets, such as Gazeta.ru, Utro.ru and Lenta.ru.
"The Russian Union of Journalists expresses outrage and protests in connection with the decision of the Ukrainian president to block a number of Russian media outlets on the territory of Ukraine, including some of the most respected and oldest online outlets � Gazeta.ru, Dni.ru and Utro.ru," the union said in a statement.
According to the organization, this repressive measure has nothing to do with the declared slogans about the struggle for "information security" of Ukraine and directly contradicts Kiev's statements on its commitment to "freedom of journalism" and "common European principles of observing freedom of speech."
The move is considered by the RUJ as another act of "direct censorship, pressure on the media and Ukrainian citizens, who are once again deprived of the right to choose information and the right to access information sources."
"The RUJ expresses its support for the journalists who have come under repression in Ukraine, and will seek broad international condemnation of any attempts to censor the media and free journalism," the statement read.
Media workers in Ukraine are subjected to constant attacks by both the government and extremists of various stripes. The country ranks 96th in the Reporters Without Borders' 2020 World Press Freedom Index.
