The State Radio and Television Council (KRRiTV) said that “in the interests of Poland’s security and defence” it was banning Russian channels from being broadcast in Poland, the niezalezna.pl website reported on Friday.
One of the five embargoed channels is Russia’s state-run 24-hour English-language RT (Russia Today) news service, officials said.
Janusz Cieszyński, Poland’s top cybersecurity official, confirmed the news via Twitter.
The ban, announced on Thursday, covers cable, satellite and online TV platforms, the regulator said in a statement.
Poland’s cable TV providers, including UPC and Vectra, have already switched off the Russian channels, in line with the decision, niezalezna.pl reported.
The Polish broadcasting regulator said it had imposed the ban “in view of the start of the Russian Federation’s war operations in Ukraine, in the interests of the security and defence of the Republic of Poland,” according to niezalezna.pl.
In the early hours of Thursday morning, Russia announced a "special military operation" against Ukraine to eliminate what President Vladimir Putin said was a "serious threat" against his country.
Despite appeals and warnings from the international community, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine by land, air and sea, the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War II, the Reuters news agency reported.
Top Polish officials have condemned Russia's attack on Ukraine and vowed to support the Ukrainian people.
(pm/gs)
Source: niezalezna.pl