Russia considers Moldova’s blocking of more than 20 Russian media portals “hostile”

Russia on Tuesday described as “hostile” Moldova’s decision to block more than 20 Russian social networks online ahead of local elections in the former Soviet republic bordering Ukraine.

“Such an openly hostile step towards Russia is another sign of the irrational official anti-Russian policy of Chisinau,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

The Moldovan authorities, as reported by the Russian MNE, blocked the Internet portals of Russian public channels such as NTV, Vesti and RT; Zvezda, TV channel of the Russian Ministry of Defense; the ultranationalist channel Tsargrad and agencies such as Russia Today.

“The massive blocking of access to Russian-language news portals represents a gross violation by the Moldovan authorities of freedom of speech and the right of its citizens to information in Russian, which is spoken by the overwhelming majority of Moldovans,” the deputy said. Russian government.

Chisinau’s priority is “not the interests of the Moldovan people,” but “Russophobic” attitudes dictated by its Western sponsors.

“There is no doubt that the country’s citizens will correctly evaluate this choice of priorities,” the statement added, referring to municipal elections in Moldova scheduled for November 5.

The Information and Security Service of Moldova announced on Tuesday the blocking of 22 Russian-language Internet portals, allegedly for publishing information from the authorities of a country that is in the midst of a “military conflict” and recognized as an “aggressor state.” “…

The Moldovan authorities have already banned the broadcast of Russian news programs on radio and television back in June 2022.

Moldova shut down six Russian television channels last year, citing a desire to protect its citizens from propaganda and disinformation from the Kremlin, which backs Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria.

In September, the Moldovan government also expelled the local director of the Russian news agency Sputnik, accusing the outlet of “lies and propaganda.”

Then the Kremlin protested against the “persecution” of Russian media in Moldova and summoned the Moldovan ambassador to Moscow.

Currently, only Russian films, TV series, music programs and entertainment programs are allowed to be shown.

Since the start of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, Moldova’s pro-European President Maia Sandu has regularly criticized what she sees as Russian interference and attempts to overthrow her country, which it invaded in February 2022.

At the same time, Sandu defended Moldova’s entry into the European Union, “the only way to protect freedom, peace and democracy” in the country, and also considered it “an investment in Europe’s collective security,” according to arguments used in a recent report. speech.

The former Soviet republic of 2.6 million people, located between Romania and Ukraine, received official candidate membership status last year.

Accused of being tools of the Kremlin’s “disinformation”, media outlets Sputnik and RT have been banned from broadcasting in the EU since March 2022, both on television and online, following the EU-27 agreement shortly after the conflict began.