Russian media regulator blocks websites of at least a dozen media

Russia's media regulator Roskomnadzor blocked access to at least a dozen more media websites on Wednesday, in a crackdown online that sharply escalated after President Vladimir Putin sent in troops to Ukraine.

AFP was unable to access at least a dozen Russian and foreign-based media inside the country. These included award-winning investigation website Bellingcat and several Russian regional websites, like Permdaily.ru.

Their websites were listed as blocked by Roskomnadzor.

Two Russian-language media based in Israel, where there is a large Russian-speaking community, were blocked: the 9 TV Channel Israel and Vesti Israel.

An independent media covering the Russian North Caucasus, Kavkazki Uzel, as well as some media websites based in Ukraine and Estonia were also inaccessible.

Russia has restricted access to an increasing amount of independent media since it launched its Ukraine military campaign, and has blocked access to global tech giants Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.