"YouTube announced the immediate blocking of Russian state media channels around the world. The channels of the Rossiya Segodnya media group are also blocked on YouTube," the statement says.
In particular, RIA Novosti and Radio Sputnik channels have been blocked, it added.
"We will continue our work until the last reader. And what is happening in Western social networks is lawlessness and a violation of any principles of freedom of speech and democracy, so promoted by them," the agency declared.
Google's video hosting platform earlier blocked access to channels linked to Russian state-owned media, citing a guideline against anything that rejects well-documented violence.
The company has already banned over 1,000 channels and 15,000 videos for "violating not only our hate speech policy, but also our policies on misinformation, graphic content, and more," according to the statement. YouTube also announced that all monetization options on the platform have been disabled in Russia, following the suspension of all video commercials in the country.
Earlier this month, YouTube began pulling Sputnik and RT's YouTube channels across Europe, in line with EU anti-Russia sanctions implemented in response to the Kremlin's military operation in Ukraine.
After the breakaway Donbass republics requested assistance in defending themselves against Ukrainian military assets, Moscow initiated a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24. As a result, Western countries launched a broad anti-Russia sanctions campaign. Due to regional insecurity, most multinational corporations have halted operations in Russia.
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