RT’s Telegram channel blocked in Ukraine
RT’s Russian-language Telegram channel has apparently been blocked in Ukraine as users reported problems accessing it on Monday.
The channel can no longer be accessed from Ukraine due to “violation of local laws,” according to a notice displayed on the platform. Telegram did not specify which terms of service have been violated.
Some users from Ukraine later said they were still able to access the channel as of Monday afternoon.
The Special_Authors channel, which reposts content produced by RT, has also apparently been blocked.
In the early hours of Tuesday, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported that people in the Czech Republic were also experiencing difficulties reading the RT Russian and Special_Authors channels, with the same notice from Telegram that the content had broken local laws.
Kiev and the EU have banned multiple Russian media outlets, including RT and Sputnik, since 2022, citing the Ukraine conflict and accusing the Kremlin of using the media for “disinformation.”
In September, US tech giant Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, banned several Russian networks, including RT, from its platforms. The move came after Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the outlet as a “de facto arm of [Russian] intelligence.
Russia has accused Western governments of censorship and attempts to silence dissenting voices. Moscow responded to the sanctions by banning a number of Western media outlets, including state-funded broadcasters the BBC and Voice of America.
