The Russian Justice Ministry has declared Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Voice of America (VOA), and several affiliated news services "foreign agents" under new legislation that has been criticized by Western governments and media-freedom advocates, RFE/RL reported.
The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday that a new law allowing Russia’s Justice Ministry to list foreign media outlets as “foreign agents” posed a threat to free press and it urged Moscow not to use the measure to tighten control over the media, Reuters reports.