Foreign journalists who had already received official approval were reportedly informed by telephone that their permits had been cancelled. According to reports in German magazine Spiegel, outlets including ARD, ZDF, Sky News, AFP, Rai and NHK have been excluded.
The Kremlin's ongoing battle against VPNs has intensified, with a law banning circumvention of blocked websites introduced in 2017 and mass bans on VPN services starting in 2021. By 2024, advertising for these services was also prohibited, marking a significant escalation in efforts to control internet access.
We strongly condemn Russia's unjustified decision last month to expel another British diplomat and the malicious public smear campaign that followed. This behaviour is wholly unacceptable, and we will not tolerate harassment or intimidation of our diplomatic staff.
