Montenegrin authorities on Thursday banned the broadcasting of programs by 20 Russian media outlets, including the Balkan service RT (formerly Russia Today) and Sputnik. With this decision, official Podgorica continues to act in accordance with the foreign policy of the European Union in the monitoring measures against Russia, due to the aggression against Ukraine.
All broadcasters were ordered to cut Russian media programming and suspend any agreements to broadcast or distribute their content.
Violation of these obligations is punishable by a fine of up to 40,000 euros, according to information from the Electronic Media Agency of Montenegro.
While the EU delegation welcomed the rapprochement with their foreign policy, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described Podgorica’s official action as hostile.
“The decision of the Montenegrin government is a hostile act of undisguised censorship, and these hostile actions will not go without an appropriate response,” spokeswoman Zakharova said.
The ban on Russian media began after Russia launched its attack on neighboring Ukraine in February 2022. Two months later, Montenegro joined European sanctions, but also stopped broadcasting some services of RT (formerly Russia Today) and Sputnik, Voa broadcasts.
Since then, the government has expanded the list so that it now includes seven services.
“Russia uses all these media to deliberately spread propaganda and conduct disinformation campaigns, including its military aggression against Ukraine,” the European Union office in Podgorica said.
To counter this, the EU has suspended the broadcasts and licenses of some Kremlin-backed media that spread disinformation. It also imposed sanctions on media organizations and individuals responsible for propaganda and disinformation.
