February 28, 2022

Ukraine crisis: Russia Today TV channel faces 15 Ofcom investigations

Yahoo News

UK media regulator Ofcom has launched 15 investigations into Russian state-backed news channel RT's coverage of the conflict in Ukraine.

The watchdog will examine whether the channel, formerly known as Russia Today, has broken impartiality rules.

Last week, the government asked Ofcom to review RT's UK broadcasts, saying it "is demonstrably part of Russia's global disinformation campaign".

Ofcom has the power to revoke broadcast licences.

https://news.yahoo.com/russia-today-uk-tv-regulator-174739014.html

February 28, 2022

UPDATE: Netflix Declines to Carry Russian Propaganda Channels Russian propaganda

Variety:

Netflix won’t carry the 20 Russian free-to-air propaganda channels that they could be required to host under Russian law.

In December 2021, Netflix was added by the Russian regulator, Roskomnadzor, to its register for audiovisual services because the SVOD reached over 100,000 subscribers. Consequently, Netflix is theoretically required as part of a law — known locally as the Vitrina TV law — to distribute 20 “must-carry” free-to-air Russian news, sports and entertainment TV channels.

The channels include Channel One, NTV and Spa, a channel operated by the Russian Orthodox Church. Channel One is understood to be aligned with the Kremlin and likely to broadcast Putin propaganda, Variety understands.

“Given the current situation, we have no plans to add these channels to our service,” a Netflix spokesperson told Variety.

https://variety.com/2022/tv/global/netflix-russian-propaganda-channels-1235192082/

February 28, 2022

Russia/Ukraine "Media Sanctions" Latest: More Than 20 International TV Groups Turn Off Russian Chann

Deadline.com
Max Goldbart International TV Editor

More than 20 international media groups have heeded calls from Ukrainian news organizations to turn off Russian news channels.

A spokeswoman for Ukrainian media group 1+1 Media told Deadline that providers in Poland, Australia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Canada, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria and Germany are no longer broadcasting “propagandistic TV channels” including RT, NTV, RTR and 1 Channel.

...

1+1 has also kickstarted a “digital flash mob” and is calling on social media users to use the hastag (sic_) #TurnOffRussia when discussing the conflict, which has moved into its fifth day.

https://deadline.com/2022/02/russian-media-sanctions-tv-channels-1234961643/



Wikipedia: Deadline Hollywood, commonly known as Deadline and also referred to as Deadline.com, is an online news site founded as the news blog Deadline Hollywood Daily by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, with entertainment industry news as its focus.[1] It has been a brand of Penske Media Corporation since 2009.

February 28, 2022

A Team Of American And British Special Forces Veterans Are Preparing To Join Ukraine's Fight Against

Buzzfeed News
Christopher Miller

KYIV — A group of 10 special operations forces veterans are staging in Poland and preparing to cross into Ukraine, where they plan to take up President Volodymyr Zelensky on his offer to “join the defense of Ukraine, Europe, and the world,” according to a US Army veteran arranging their passage.

The group, composed of six US citizens, three Brits, and a German, are NATO-trained and experienced in close combat and counterterrorism. They want to be among the first to officially join the new International Legion of the Territorial Defense of Ukraine that Zelensky announced Sunday, according to text messages reviewed by BuzzFeed News. Two former American infantry officers are also making plans to come to Ukraine to provide “leadership” for the group, the Army veteran recruiter said.

As intense fighting raged in the Ukrainian capital for the fourth day and Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered nuclear deterrence forces on high alert, Zelensky urged people around the world who can help fight Moscow’s “vile tactics” to enlist in Ukraine’s armed forces.

“This is the beginning of a war against Europe, against European structures, against democracy, against basic human rights, against a global order of law, rules, and peaceful coexistence,” Zelensky said in a statement announcing a decree on the creation of the unit. “Anyone who wants to join the defense of Ukraine, Europe, and the world can come and fight side by side with the Ukrainians against the Russian war criminals.”

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/christopherm51/american-nato-military-veterans-fight-russia-with-ukraine

February 28, 2022

CNN: 'Show this to Putin.' A 6-year-old girl killed by Russian shelling (Warning, graphic images)

This is heartbreaking and horrifying. I have a granddaughter the same age.

CNN
Photographs by Evgeniy Maloletka
Updated 10:29 AM ET, Mon February 28, 2022

Editor's note: This gallery contains graphic images. Viewer discretion is advised.



A wounded 6-year-old girl arrived at a hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine, on Sunday.

Her mother wept outside the ambulance. Her father was at her side, covered in blood.

The family was at a supermarket on the outskirts of the southeastern port city when Russian shelling started, according to the Associated Press.

Now, a medical team was racing to save the young girl's life.

More at link:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/28/europe/gallery/ukraine-girl-killed/index.html

February 28, 2022

14 Ukrainian Children Dead--and Countless More Suffering (Warning graphic images at link)

Daily Beast

Warning: This story contains graphic images of a mortally wounded child.

They have been bundled out of their homes and into bomb shelters, forced to flee for the border as refugees, and wounded or killed by shelling and air strikes.

The images coming out of Ukraine in the wake of Russian’s invasion have all been harrowing—but none more so than those of the children exposed to the horrors of war.

Hundreds upon hundreds of children left behind all they knew as Vladimir Putin’s attack began in the dark of Thursday morning, rushing with the families to border countries willing to take them in as refugees.

Below, a boy peeks from behind a curtain after fleeing from Ukraine to Romania, while a girl pushes a baby carriage toward the Shehyni border crossing to Poland.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/ukraines-children-are-dying-and-suffering-at-russias-hands?ref=scroll

February 28, 2022

Belarus Issues Dire World War III Warning as It Gets Ready to Send Troops to Ukraine

Daily Beast
Barbie Latza Nadeau Correspondent-At-Large
Jamie Ross News Correspondent
Updated Feb. 28, 2022 11:01AM ET / Published Feb. 28, 2022 5:00AM ET

The Putin-backed president of Belarus has warned that World War III could be about to begin as he reportedly prepares his troops to assist with Russia’s mass-scale invasion of Ukraine.

President Alexander Lukashenko warned that the crisis in Ukraine could spark a global conflict, writing in a statement: “Russia is being pushed towards a third world war. We should be very reserved and steer clear of it. Because nuclear war is the end of everything.”

Despite the dire warning, the increasingly rogue leader—who allowed Russia to amass its military hardware and launch an attack from his side of the border—is expected to send troops into Ukraine, according to The Washington Post, citing an unnamed Biden administration official who said, “It’s very clear Minsk is now an extension of the Kremlin.”

The threat of Belarus joining the invasion cast a shadow over Monday’s peace talks which began on the Belarus border town of Gobel shortly before 1 p.m. local time.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/belarus-issues-dire-world-war-iii-warning-as-it-gets-ready-to-send-troops-to-ukraine?ref=home

February 28, 2022

Norway Oil Giant to Start Exiting From Joint Ventures in Russia

Bloomberg via Yahoo!Finance

Norway’s biggest energy company Equinor ASA joined U.K. energy giant BP Plc in starting to withdraw from Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

Both companies told investors to brace for a financial impact. Equinor, which is 67% state owned, said the decision to pull out from joint ventures in Russia will affect the book value of its assets in the country and lead to impairments, without quantifying the size of the hit, according to a statement on Monday. The company had $1.2 billion in non-current assets in Russia at the end of 2021. BP on Sunday estimated there could be a writedown of as much as $25 billion.

“In the current situation, we regard our position as untenable,” Chief Executive Officer Anders Opedal said. “We will now stop new investments into our Russian business, and we will start the process of exiting our joint ventures in a manner that is consistent with our values.”

The decisions come after a slew of measures to isolate the Russian economy. The Norwegian government announced late on Sunday that it plans to remove Russian assets from its $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund, and western governments levied sanctions.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/norway-oil-giant-start-exiting-073219012.html

February 28, 2022

EU to ban Russian state-backed channels RT and Sputnik

Guardian

The EU has announced it will ban the Russian state-backed channels RT and Sputnik in an unprecedented move against the Kremlin media machine.

The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said: “Russia Today and Sputnik, as well as their subsidiaries, will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war and to sow division in our union. So we are developing tools to ban their toxic and harmful disinformation in Europe.”

The move, which was not trailed or widely discussed, came as part of a package of tougher sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s government and the regime of the Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, which Von der Leyen described as “complicit in this vicious attack against Ukraine”.

European foreign policy taboos have been smashed in just a few days, after Russia invaded its neighbour, provoking fears of the biggest war in Europe since 1945.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/feb/27/eu-ban-russian-state-backed-channels-rt-sputnik

February 28, 2022

RT must be banned from broadcasting in the US - here's a list of providers - UPDATE

I just contacted US Rep. David Trone, US Sen. Chris Van Hollen and US Sen. Benjamin Cardin, all Maryland Democrats, with the following message:

The European Union and Canada have just banned Russia Today from television there.
Can the U.S. do this too? I don't see why Russia Today, Sputnik and other Russian channels should be allowed to operate here while Russia has illegally invaded Ukraine.


This is a link to providers that show RT, including satellite and internet channels.

More providers at link.

Contact your provider if it's on this list and tell them to stop showing RT.


RT Cable and Satellite TV providers:

AGP BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT LLC

Buckeye CableSystem

Channel Master

Content Media Rights

DIRECTV

Dish Networks

NEXTV

ROKU

Spring City Cable

https://www.rt.com/where-to-watch/USA/