Russia outlaws two investigative outlets as ‘undesirable’

Russian authorities on Friday declared two investigative news outlets “undesirable,” outlawing their operation in Russia, the latest in a series of steps to stifle any critical reporting amid Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

The Prosecutor General’s office designated the investigative group Bellingcat and Russian online outlet The Insider, as well as the Czech nonprofit CEELI Institute, “undesirable.” Russia’s state news agency Tass quoted the office as saying that “their activities pose a threat to the foundations of the constitutional order and security of” Russia.

A 2015 law that introduced the concept of “undesirable” organizations made membership in them a criminal offense, and dozens of non-governmental organizations have since been outlawed under the legislation.

The Insider, a news outlet registered in Latvia, has worked with Bellingcat on high-profile cases such as the nerve agent poisonings of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Websites of both have been blocked in Russia since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.

The Kremlin unleashed a massive wave of crackdowns on independent news outlets in Russia last year. It culminated shortly after President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine on Feb. 24, with authorities blocking dozens of news sites and even taking a renowned critical radio station off the airwaves.

Websites of several foreign news outlets have also been blocked in Russia, as Moscow sought to control the narrative of what it called a “special military operation” in Ukraine and stifled any and all voices that decried it as a war or an invasion and accused Russian military of committing atrocities in the neighboring country.