“We condemn the move by the Russian Federation Council to pass a law that threatens journalists with up to 15 years in prison,” National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne said in a statement.
The new Russian law criminalizes any publication of an event that would discredit the country’s military.
“We commend the steps taken by US and global governments, companies, and other institutions around the world to condemn the war in Ukraine, including those that advocate and oppose the Russian government’s further efforts to undermine press freedom and disseminate disinformation,” a White House statement said.
For our part, the statement adds, the United States has strengthened new sanctions against individuals residing in Russia and Ukraine, as well as Russian entities linked to Russian intelligence services, which spread destabilizing disinformation, and has provided critical assistance to increase digital safety measures for civil society and the media.
With our partners, the statement says, we will continue to condemn Russia’s shutdown of independent media and technology platforms that refuse to allow Putin to run unchecked disinformation campaigns to hide the truth from its citizens. International news outlets.
We will continue to work with all like-minded partners and support us, stand by the sovereign state of Ukraine and its people, and with the citizens of Russia who speak out against the war by the thousands.