Russia retaliates to expulsion of journalists from Germany
Two employees of German state media group ARD have been ordered to leave Moscow in response to the expulsion of staff from Russia’s Channel 1 from Berlin, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, Russian public broadcaster Channel 1 announced that journalist Ivan Blagoy and cameraman Dmitry Volkov have been ordered to leave Berlin by early December, with the German authorities citing national security concerns.
“As a mirror measure, German correspondents have been told to hand in their accreditation cards and leave Russian territory,” Zakharova said.
ARD journalist Frank Alschmann and his cameraman will be those departing from Moscow, she added.
Channel 1, which is funded by the Russian government, has long been accused in the West of spreading pro-Kremlin narratives. The expulsion of its journalists from Berlin followed a report by Blagoy on the detention of German citizen Nikolai Gaiduk, arrested by Russian security services on suspicion of espionage. Gaiduk, according to Russian officials, was involved in a plot by Ukrainian intelligence to sabotage gas facilities in the Kaliningrad region.
German Foreign Ministry spokesman Christian Wagner said during a briefing on Wednesday that claims of Channel 1’s office being shut down by the country’s authorities do not reflect reality.
According to Wagner, Russian journalists can continue working in Germany. The expulsion of Channel 1 staff could be linked to visa issues, he suggested.
The spokesman also said that Berlin condemns Moscow’s decision to order ARD journalists to leave Russia in response to the alleged shutdown of Channel 1’s bureau.
