BBC World News is taken OFF AIR in Russia – two days after Putin approved law that could lock up journalists for 15 years for spreading ‘fake information’

• It comes two days after BBC said it was ‘temporarily suspending’ work in Russia
• Russian parliament passed law cracking down on foreign news outlets on Friday 
• Foreign ministry previously accused BBC of ‘undermining stability and security’
• Access to BBC websites had already been restricted in Russia
• Follow all the latest updates on the Ukraine war on MailOnline’s live blog here

BBC World News has been taken off air in Russia just two days after Putin approved a law that could lock up journalists for 15 years for spreading ‘fake information’.

The corporation said it was ‘temporarily suspending’ the work of all its news journalists and support staff in Russia on Friday after authorities passed legislation cracking down on foreign outlet.

Director-general Tim Davie said the new law appeared to ‘criminalise the process of independent journalism’ in the country.

The Russian parliament approved a law that would make it a criminal offence to spread ‘fake’ or ‘false’ news about the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine. 

It came after foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the BBC of playing a ‘determined role in undermining the Russian stability and security’. 

Access to BBC websites had already been restricted in Russia. 

A spokesperson for the BBC said today: ”We can confirm that since Saturday BBC World News has not been available in Russia. 

‘We regret that our Russian audiences are being denied access to trusted and impartial news at a time when they need it most.’ 

It comes as more than 1,000 people are being held across Russia after new protests against the war in Ukraine took place over the weekend.

The total number of arrests since the invasion began has now reached 10,000, according to a monitor.  

Putin also blocked Facebook for ‘discrimination towards Russian media’ on Friday in response to the social media giant banning Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik in the UK at the request of the British government.

Russia’s media regulator Roskomnadzor announced on Friday, a week after Moscow invaded Ukraine, that Facebook would be banned, citing ’26 instances of discrimination toward Russian media’. 

BBC World News has been taken off air in Russia just two days after Putin approved a law that could lock up journalists for 15 years

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to representatives of the flight crew of Russian airlines as he visits to Aeroflot Aviation School outside Moscow on Saturday, a day after he approved a law that could lock up journalists for 15 years for spreading ‘fake information’

Russian police officers detain a participant in an unauthorized rally against the invasion of Ukraine on Sunday

Another protester is detained by police officers in Moscow on Sunday after Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny called on Russians worldwide to take to the streets

A large number of Russian police officers deployed to the streets of Moscow ahead of a protest against the invasion

Residents escape from the town of Irpin, after heavy shelling landed on the only escape route used by locals on Sunday

A statement from Mr Davie said on Friday: ‘This legislation appears to criminalise the process of independent journalism.

‘It leaves us no other option than to temporarily suspend the work of all BBC News journalists and their support staff within the Russian Federation while we assess the full implications of this unwelcome development.

‘Our BBC News service in Russian will continue to operate from outside Russia.

‘The safety of our staff is paramount and we are not prepared to expose them to the risk of criminal prosecution simply for doing their jobs.

‘I’d like to pay tribute to all of them, for their bravery, determination and professionalism.

‘We remain committed to making accurate, independent information available to audiences around the world, including the millions of Russians who use our news services.

‘Our journalists in Ukraine and around the world will continue to report on the invasion of Ukraine.’ 

BBC Russia earlier reported that it had been added to the register of mass media ‘containing calls for riots, extremism and participation in illegal mass actions.’

Editors of the site received notices from Roskomnadzor demanding they remove materials, claiming they contained ‘inaccurate, socially significant information distributed under the guise of reliable messages, which creates a threat of harm to life.’

The BBC has seen a recent increase in traffic to its Russian language news website since the invasion of Ukraine began.

It said the site’s audience rose to a record 10.7 million people in the last week – more than triple its year-to-date weekly average.

The Kremlin’s latest move comes at it is ‘preparing’ to pound the Ukrainian port city of Odessa and ‘choke’ off its lifeline as a ceasefire has been called for the besieged area of Mariupol – amid fears Putin could blast the escape route of refugees with airstrikes for a second time.

People fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine arrive at the train station in Zahony, Hungary, on Sunday

A woman walks alongside a child and holds a baby as they walk towards a train heading to Budapest on Sunday

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky today warned that Russian forces are preparing to shell Odessa – a historic port city on the Black Sea coast.

Meanwhile, attempts to evacuate civilians from Mariupol will restart on Sunday after similar efforts yesterday were scuppered by Russian bombing just 45 minutes after a ceasefire was agreed. Some 400,000 residents will begin to be evacuated from 12pm today, with the agreement in place until 9pm, according to the city council of Mariupol.

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