Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today that Russia‘s wartime censorship is justified amid the conflict with Ukraine as is the shutting down of opposition media.

Russian authorities quickly blocked Russian media in February 2022 to suppress opposing voices as Russia invaded Ukraine and enacted laws threatening years in prison for “defaming” the military.

Speaking to the Russian magazine Expert, Peskov said many media outlets have been closed and some journalists have left the country in the past three years.

“But don’t forget the situation we are in. Now is the period of military censorship , unprecedented for our country. After all, the war continues also in the media sphere,” , Peskov said.

Russian authorities have also blocked Twitter, now X, and its Meta, Facebook and Instagram platforms, and subsequently You Tube the most popular foreign video posting platform in Russia.

“It would be a mistake to turn a blind eye to media outlets deliberately engaged in defaming Russia. However, I believe that this regime (of censorship) is justified now,” Peskov said.