German authorities are shutting down the Berlin bureau of Russia’s state broadcaster Channel One, citing national security concerns, the broadcaster said Wednesday.
Channel One correspondent Ivan Blagoy said he and cameraman Dmitry Volkov were ordered to leave Germany by mid-December.
“The decision was motivated by Germany’s national security interests,” Blagoy said, referencing a 10-page document issued by German authorities.
According to Channel One, the document claims the broadcaster poses a “significant and direct threat to German and EU public order and security” through its ability to influence public opinion and decision-making.
Officials in Berlin reportedly argue that Channel One has fostered distrust among Russian-speaking migrants in Germany toward German and EU institutions by promoting a narrative of the “declining West.”
Despite restrictions on Russian state-backed media, Channel One retains significant viewership among former Soviet Union migrants in Germany, the document says.
Blagoy claimed the order to close the bureau came “almost immediately” after Channel One aired a report on the recent arrest of a German citizen in Russia’s Kaliningrad region on charges of sabotage.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has promised retaliatory measures, though German authorities have not publicly commented on the reported closure.
The Moscow Times contacted Germany’s media regulator for comment.
In late 2021, Germany successfully lobbied to block the German-language version of Russia’s RT broadcaster from Europe’s satellite network, prompting Russia to shut down Deutsche Welle’s Moscow bureau in retaliation.
The United States has also sanctioned Channel One over its ties to the Russian government.
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