Russian channel RT to be taken off UK broadcast

LONDON

RT, the Russian state-owned news channel, will no longer have a platform in the UK.

The announcement was made Tuesday and later confirmed by UK Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries.

“Shortly, the French satellite which broadcasts Russia Today (RT) in both the EU and UK will be switched off. This means RT will no longer be available via Sky (TV),” Dorries said in a post on Twitter.

“(Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s polluting propaganda machine will now have severely restricted access into British homes via our TV screens,” she added.

There had been calls made to the government by opposition parties in recent weeks to take down the Russian government mouthpiece, accusing the channel of peddling misinformation.

The switching off of RT on UK airwaves was announced shortly after further sanctions were imposed on Moscow as well as its ally Belarus.

Since Russia's war on Ukraine began last Thursday, it has been met with outrage from the international community, with the European Union, UK and US implementing a range of economic sanctions against Russia.

Russia was further isolated after its planes were barred from flying in European and Canadian airspace, and a number of its banks were kicked out of the SWIFT international banking system.

So far, at least 136 civilians have been killed in Ukraine, including 13 children, and 400 others injured, including 26 children, according to UN figures.

Around 660,000 people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries, the UN Refugee Agency said Tuesday.