Watchdog

A committee in Russia's State Duma has approved a draft law criminalizing the distribution of "false news" about military operations amid a crackdown on independent media outlets covering Moscow's ongoing, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

The Committee for State Building and Legislations approved the draft legislation on March 3.

After full approval by lawmakers, the bill is expected to be added as a separate article to the Criminal Code to "prevent the discrediting of the armed forces of the Russian Federation during their operations to protect the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens, maintaining international peace and security."

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The bill envisions penalties of up to 10 years in prison for individuals convicted of the offense. The penalty for the distribution of "false news" about the Russian Army that leads to "serious consequences" rises to up to 15 years in prison.

The full State Duma is expected to debate the legislation on March 4.

The move comes as Russian authorities ratchet up pressure on media outlets, threatening them for their reporting about the invasion on topics such as the heavy resistance being put up by Ukrainian forces despite Russia's overwhelming military power.

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Russia's media regulator Roskomnadzor has ordered media across the country to only publish information provided by official sources. It also forbids describing the unprovoked actions as an "invasion" or a "war," instead insisting that it be called a "special military operation."

On March 3, one of the most popular media outlets in the country, Moscow-based the Ekho Moskvy radio station, said it would be closing after being taken off air this week over its coverage of the invasion, while the popular Russian television station Dozhd suspended its operations amid pressure linked to its coverage.

The popular Russian television station Dozhd has suspended its operations amid pressure linked to its coverage of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The television channel's director-general and owner, Natalya Sindeyeva, said on March 3 that the decision had been made at a meeting of Dozhd's staff members, adding that the channel was suspending its operations for an uncertain period of time due to "new conditions."

Sindeyeva's announcement came one day after Dozhd's chief editor, Tikhon Dzyadko, said that he and several other Dozhd journalists had left Russia, fearing for their safety.

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Dozhd's website was blocked in Russia on March 1 after the Prosecutor-General's Office demanded the move.

Russian authorities also took the Ekho Moskvy radio station off the air for distributing what authorities called information "calling for extremist activities, violence, and premeditated false information" about Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Ekho Moskvy announced its closure hours before Sindeyeva's announcement.

Roskomnadzor has warned media outlets across the country, including RFE/RL channels and websites, that Russia's actions in Ukraine cannot be called "war" or an "invasion" and should instead be referred to as a "special military operation in Ukraine."

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Roskomnadzor on February 28 blocked Current Time and the Crimea.Realities project of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service for refusing to delete their reports about the war in Ukraine. Current Time is a Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA.

Russian parliament’s lower chamber, the State Duma, is expected to start discussing a draft law that envisions punishment of up to 15 years in prison for "premeditated distribution of false information about military operations of Russian Federation’s armed forces."