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In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Union is banning the Russian state-owned Russia Today and Sputnik, as well as their subsidiaries, across Europe.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said that with the ban, the channels will “no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war and to sow division in our Union.”

The EU has also decided to shut down European airspace for all Russian-owned, Russian-registered or Russian-controlled aircraft. These aircraft will no more be able to land in, take off from or overfly the territory of the EU. It will also roll out a new package of sanctions, by introducing restrictive measures against their most important sectors to stop the exports of products. The EU will also extend to Belarus the export restrictions introduced on dual-use goods for Russia, and in addition, sanction those Belarusians helping the Russian war effort.

The Ministry of Сulture and Information Policy of Ukraine, with the support of Ukrainian media groups 1+1 media, StarLightMedia, Media Group Ukraine and Inter Media Group, had put out a call for assistance to turn off Russian news channels. “It is extremely important that people around the world have access to reliable and truthful information relating to Russia’s war against Ukraine and the course of hostilities here,” it said. “We understand how powerful the Russian propaganda machine is and what kind of effort the aggressor has to make to spread fake news to cynically fool people. We absolutely oppose this!”

As of this weekend, the channels of 1+1 media, StarLightMedia, Media Group Ukraine and Inter Media Group are broadcasting as a single newscast: the United News. The media groups will be taking turns in providing uninterrupted information. The Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Security and Defense Council, the Office of the President of Ukraine and other Government structures will be joining the broadcasting.

“We objectively and promptly provide comprehensive information from different regions of the country 24/7,” the group said. “We are ready to provide TV providers with our signal.”