Russia has revoked the accreditation of foreign journalists for the parade scheduled to take place in Moscow on May 9. Several Western media outlets, including AFP, ARD, ZDF, Rai, and NHK, have been denied access.
This was reported by Der Spiegel.
According to the publication, a Kremlin representative informed journalists from Der Spiegel and other foreign media outlets by phone that their accreditation had been revoked. ARD, ZDF, Sky, AFP, the Italian broadcaster Rai, and Japan’s NHK also received rejections.
The reason given to the journalists was that “the format of the parade coverage has been changed due to the situation,” so foreign media outlets that had already received accreditation confirmation will not be admitted. Other media outlets were told that only Russian media would be allowed to attend the event.
As noted by Der Spiegel, this is the first time the Kremlin has initially approved accreditation for foreign journalists to cover the May 9 parade and then revoked it.
Earlier reports indicated that this year’s parade would be held in a scaled-down format. The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that due to the “current operational situation,” military equipment would not be displayed on Red Square.
Additionally, according to Russian public sources, the parade broadcast will be aired with a delay.
