Latest news with #Kremlin-controlled
eNCA
4 days ago
- Politics
- eNCA
Banned Russian media sites 'still accessible' across EU: report
Websites of banned Russian media can still be easily accessed across the EU in the "overwhelming majority" of cases, experts said Tuesday, slamming the bloc's "failure" to publish up-to-date guidance. After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, EU authorities banned Kremlin-controlled media from transmitting in the bloc, including online, to counter "disinformation". But more than three years on, "sanctioned outlets are largely still active and accessible" across member states, said a report released by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), a London-based think tank. "Russian state media continues to maintain a strong online presence, posing a persistent challenge to Western democracies," the report said, with blocks imposed by internet service providers "largely ineffective". EU sanctions banned RT, previously known as Russia Today, and Sputnik media organisations, as well as other state-controlled channels, news agencies and newspapers accused of "information warfare". EU member states are each responsible for ensuring blocks are applied by internet service providers (ISPs). But the ISD report criticised the European Commission for its "failure" to maintain a "definitive list of different domain iterations" -- or website addresses -- used by each sanctioned entity. It said this left countries and internet service providers "without the guidance needed for effective and targeted implementation". The report says it identified 26 media entities under sanctions -- but these had 58 different internet domains. The ISD urged the European Commission to provide a "continuously updated and publicly accessible list" of all relevant domains and include it in sanctions packages and on its online sanctions dashboard to speed up enforcement. The report covered Germany, France, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, testing the three most popular internet service providers in each. Russia has sought to circumvent sanctions by using various tactics, including mirror sites with different addresses and a network of websites masquerading as Western media, known as Pravda, that targets chatbots to reach a wider audience, according to researchers. The ISD urged the EU to monitor social media activity of sanctioned entities and track other pro-Russian accounts. Its report found that Slovakia -- whose Prime Minister Robert Fico is known for his pro-Russia position -- "performed the worst in terms of enforcement" with all sanctioned domains accessible in tests. Slovakia's legal mandates to block pro-Russian websites expired in 2022 after lawmakers failed to extend them. Poland was the second worst with at least 50 domains accessible. France and Germany's internet service providers were most effective, the report found.
Euractiv
4 days ago
- Politics
- Euractiv
Banned Russian media sites ‘still accessible' across EU, report finds
Websites of banned Russian media outlets can still be easily accessed across the EU in the "overwhelming majority" of cases, experts said Tuesday, denouncing the bloc's "failure" to publish full lists of the websites involved. After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, EU authorities banned Kremlin-controlled media from broadcasting in the bloc, including online, to counter "disinformation".But more than three years on, "sanctioned outlets are largely still active and accessible" across member states, said a report released by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), a London-based think tank."Russian state media continues to maintain a strong online presence, posing a persistent challenge to Western democracies," the report said, with blocks by internet service providers "largely ineffective". EU sanctions banned RT, previously known as Russia Today, and Sputnik media organisations as well as other state-controlled media accused of "information warfare". The ISD report covered Germany, France, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, testing the top three internet service providers in each. It identified 26 media under sanctions and tried to view 58 associated domains. In 76% of tests, providers failed to block access. EU member states are responsible for ensuring blocks are applied by internet service providers. But the ISD report criticised the European Commission for its "failure" to maintain a "definitive list of different domain iterations" – or website addresses – associated with each media outlet. It said this left countries and internet service providers "without the guidance needed for effective and targeted implementation". "The issue is when they sanction Russian state media, they mention the outlet that they are sanctioning – so Russia Today, Sputnik, etc – but what they don't list is what domain falls under this entity," said the report's author, Pablo Maristany de las Casas. "If the European Commission were to list the different domains that are known to be linked to these entities, that would make it much easier for member states and the internet service providers in those member states to enforce these blocks," he said. The report urged the EC to post a "continuously updated and publicly accessible list" and include it in sanctions packages and on its online sanctions dashboard. A Commission spokesperson told AFP: "It is up to the relevant providers to block access to websites of outlets covered by the sanctions, including subdomains or newly created domains." Grey zone and mirrors Enforcement needs to be more agile because Russia has sought to circumvent sanctions, the report's author said. "Some outlets, for example, RT, use so-called mirror domains" where they "simply copy the contents of the blocked site into a new URL – a new link – to circumvent those sanctions," he said. The report found that Slovakia, whose Prime Minister Robert Fico is known for his pro-Russia positions, performed the worst on enforcement, with no blocks at all. Slovakia's legal mandates to block pro-Russian websites expired in 2022 after lawmakers failed to extend them. Poland was the second worst, while France and Germany were most effective overall. Most sanctioned domains had little traction in the bloc, with under 1,000 monthly views, but Germany, with its large Russian diaspora, was the exception: three domains including RT had over 100,000 monthly visitors from there. The report's author spotted another "loophole": numerous accounts on X posting links to banned media, mainly aimed at French and German speakers. In May, such accounts posted almost 50 thousand links, almost all to RT-affiliated sites, the report found. X largely blocks official media accounts, the author said, but "with these anonymous accounts that only repost this kind of content, there seems to be a grey zone and it seems not be withheld in the EU."
Int'l Business Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Banned Russian Media Sites 'Still Accessible' Across EU: Report
Websites of banned Russian media can still be easily accessed across the EU in the "overwhelming majority" of cases, experts said Tuesday, slamming the bloc's "failure" to publish up-to-date guidance. After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, EU authorities banned Kremlin-controlled media from transmitting in the bloc, including online, to counter "disinformation". But more than three years on, "sanctioned outlets are largely still active and accessible" across member states, said a report released by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), a London-based think tank. "Russian state media continues to maintain a strong online presence, posing a persistent challenge to Western democracies," the report said, with blocks imposed by internet service providers "largely ineffective". EU sanctions banned RT, previously known as Russia Today, and Sputnik media organisations, as well as other state-controlled channels, news agencies and newspapers accused of "information warfare". EU member states are each responsible for ensuring blocks are applied by internet service providers (ISPs). But the ISD report criticised the European Commission for its "failure" to maintain a "definitive list of different domain iterations" -- or website addresses -- used by each sanctioned entity. It said this left countries and internet service providers "without the guidance needed for effective and targeted implementation". The report says it identified 26 media entities under sanctions -- but these had 58 different internet domains. The ISD urged the European Commission to provide a "continuously updated and publicly accessible list" of all relevant domains and include it in sanctions packages and on its online sanctions dashboard to speed up enforcement. The report covered Germany, France, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, testing the three most popular internet service providers in each. Russia has sought to circumvent sanctions by using various tactics, including mirror sites with different addresses and a network of websites masquerading as Western media, known as Pravda, that targets chatbots to reach a wider audience, according to researchers. The ISD urged the EU to monitor social media activity of sanctioned entities and track other pro-Russian accounts. Its report found that Slovakia -- whose Prime Minister Robert Fico is known for his pro-Russia position -- "performed the worst in terms of enforcement" with all sanctioned domains accessible in tests. Slovakia's legal mandates to block pro-Russian websites expired in 2022 after lawmakers failed to extend them. Poland was the second worst with at least 50 domains accessible. France and Germany's internet service providers were most effective, the report found. Most sanctioned domains had little traction -- gaining under a thousand views per month in the EU -- but five domains each had over 50,000 monthly visitors from Germany, the report found. am/jkb/kjm
Euronews
5 days ago
- Politics
- Euronews
Trump sends Witkoff to Moscow days before US sanctions hit Russia
US president's special envoy Steve Witkoff is travelling to Russia this week, just days before a deadline for Moscow to reach a deal with Ukraine or face major tariffs. Donald Trump said Witkoff may be going to Moscow 'Wednesday or Thursday'. 'They would like to see him. They've asked that he meet, so we'll see what happens,' he added. The Kremlin-controlled media later reported that Witkoff is expected in Moscow on Wednesday, 6 August. US president also reiterated that sanctions would take effect by Friday if Russia does not agree to a ceasefire by that date. "There'll be sanctions, but they seem to be pretty good at avoiding sanctions," Trump said. "They're wily characters, and they're pretty good at avoiding sanctions, so we'll see what happens." Trump announced earlier that the measures would include significant secondary tariffs on countries that continue to import Russian oil, gas and other goods — a move that would significantly affect major trading partners such as China and India. Is Moscow ready for a ceasefire? Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Moscow is "always happy" to hold talks with Witkoff. "We consider these contacts to be important, meaningful and very useful." Peskov also said that the Kremlin has not ruled out the possibility of a meeting between Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin this week in Moscow. US special envoy met with the Russian president in April, drawing criticism not only for repeating Moscow's narratives about Russia's all-out war against Ukraine, but also for using the Kremlin-provided translators for these talks. In a stark demonstration of Moscow's ceasefire intentions, Russia has intensified its daily attacks against Ukraine, targeting civilians and residential infrastructure with barrages of missiles and drones across the country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reiterated the calls to the US to sanction Russia, saying, "The world has enough power to stop this and protect people." "Ukraine looks forward to the implementation of every agreement on strengthening defence that has been reached with its partners. Every day of delay results in the loss of our people," he added. Is a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin possible? Zelenskyy also reiterated his willingness to meet with Putin. "We understand who calls the shots in Russia, and thus Ukraine is once again offering to move beyond technical talks—not to exchange statements, but to actually meet at the level of leaders," the Ukrainian president said. Zelenskyy has been repeatedly calling for a meeting with his Russian counterpart. When the direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow were renewed in March this year, Zelenskyy personally went to Turkey, calling on Putin to come to Istanbul for direct negotiations between the presidents. Putin was a no-show and has been rejecting the possibility of meeting Zelenskyy since then. On Monday, Peskov once again said that a face-to-face meeting between the presidents is not on the agenda, claiming that "all the preparatory work has not been completed yet." Putin's spokesperson did not provide details and more information on what precisely this preparatory work involves and what Moscow's expectations are regarding the possible meeting between the two.
Euronews
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Russian transport minister found dead hours after being fired by Putin
Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoit was found dead near Moscow on Monday, just hours after President Vladimir Putin fired him following massive disruptions of Russian civilian airspace caused by Ukrainian drone raids. According to Russian media reports, a gun was found near Starovoit's body. Reports also claim he died in an apparent suicide. However, no official information on the cause of death has been released at this time. Earlier on Monday, the Kremlin provided no specific details or reasons for the dismissal of Starovoit, who had served as the governor of Russia's Kursk region before being reappointed transport minister in May 2024. However, his firing came after almost 300 flights were grounded at major airports over the past weekend due to the latest Ukrainian drone raid. On Saturday and Sunday, 485 fights ended up getting cancelled, according to the Russian federal aviation agency, Rosaviatsiya. In total, from early morning on Saturday until Monday morning, some 1,900 flights were delayed due to what the agency referred to as 'airspace restrictions imposed on airports in central Russia.' Kremlin-controlled outlet Komersant reported that the disruptions cost the airlines over 200,000 euros. Ukraine's drone raids on Russia While Russia has intensified its aerial attacks against Ukrainian civilians and residential and energy infrastructure, Kyiv is targeting Russia's military sites and war infrastructure. On Saturday, Ukraine's military general staff said that Ukrainian forces struck the Borisoglebsk air base in Russia's Voronezh region. Borisoglebsk is believed to be the home base of Russia's Su-34, Su-35S and Su-30SM fighter jets. The Kremlin reported that Russian air defence shot down eight Ukrainian drones headed for Moscow late on Sunday, out of a total of 90 UAVs overnight over Russian territory, the Black Sea and Russia-annexed Crimea. Most of them were downed over the border regions near Ukraine, but three were also destroyed over the Leningrad region, including the regional capital of St Petersburg, the ministry said on Telegram on Monday. Kyiv's drone campaign has already disrupted civilian air travel in Russia several times. At the beginning of May, just days before Moscow's Victory Day parade, Ukrainian drones caused massive disruption at Moscow's airports, with 350 flights affected.
