Russia Blocks Access to BBC’s Main News Website

Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor blocked access to the BBC's main news website on Wednesday, and Moscow's Foreign Ministry warned of further media retaliation.

"I think this is only the beginning of retaliatory measures to the information war unleashed by the West against Russia," Maria Zakharova, the foreign ministry spokeswoman said. 

Roskomnadzor also blocked access to at least 31 other media websites on Wednesday. This was an online crackdown that escalated sharply after President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine.

AFP did not have access to more than 30 Russian and foreign media in the country.  These included the award-winning research website Bellingcat and several Russian regional websites such as Permdaily.ru.

Two Israeli-based Russian media with a large Russian-speaking community have been blocked, the 9 TV Channel Israel and Vesti Israel. Kavkazki Uzel, an independent media website covering the North Caucasus of Russia, was also inaccessible as the media houses were based in Ukraine and Estonia. 

Russia has restricted access to more and more independent media since it launched its military operations in Ukraine, blocking access to global tech giants Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.