Ukraine crisis: BBC World News taken off air in Russia

The BBC said on Sunday that its World News television channel has been taken off the air in Russia as Moscow clamps down further on foreign media during its attacks on Ukraine.

BBC World News presenter Victoria Derbyshire first announced the suspension to viewers outside Russia on Sunday.

“BBC World News, the channel you are watching if you are outside the UK right now, and which is the BBC’s global television news channel, has just been taken off air in Russia,” she said.

A BBC spokesperson said that BBC World News had not been available in Russia since Saturday.

The BBC said on Friday that it was halting its journalists’ work in Russia after lawmakers moved to impose harsh jail terms for publishing “fake news” about the army as part of efforts to muffle dissent over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.