The New York Times Pulls Its News Staff From Russia

From a New York Times story by Michael M. Grynbaum headlined “The New York Times Pulls Its News Staff From Russia”:

The New York Times said on Tuesday that it was temporarily removing its journalists from Russia in the wake of harsh new legislation that effectively outlaws independent reporting on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“Russia’s new legislation seeks to criminalize independent, accurate news reporting about the war against Ukraine. For the safety and security of our editorial staff working in the region, we are moving them out of the country for now,” a spokeswoman for The Times, Danielle Rhoades Ha, said in a statement.

“We look forward to them returning as soon as possible while we monitor the application of the new law,” Ms. Rhoades Ha said. “We will continue our live, robust coverage of the war and our rigorous reporting on Russia’s offensive in Ukraine and these attempts to stifle independent journalism.”

The decision by The Times comes after some major English-language news organizations, including Bloomberg News, suspended their journalistic operations in Russia in response to the new law passed by President Vladimir V. Putin’s government. Under the legislation, journalists who describe the war as a “war” could be sentenced to prison.

The Washington Post said previously that it would remove author names and reporting locations from certain articles written by its Russia-based staff.

The BBC said last week that it was suspending its operations in Russia. But on Tuesday, the broadcaster announced that “after careful deliberation” it would resume English-language reporting from the country.

“We have considered the implications of the new legislation alongside the urgent need to report from inside Russia,” the BBC said in a statement, stressing that the safety of its employees in Russia was its top priority. “We will tell this crucial part of the story independently and impartially, adhering to the BBC’s strict editorial standards.”

Michael M. Grynbaum is a media correspondent covering the intersection of business, culture and politics.