No more Portnikov: Radio Liberty cuts broadcasting and staff in Ukraine
14 April 15:14
The Ukrainian editorial office of Radio Liberty is forced to significantly reduce its broadcasting due to financial problems, Komersant ukrainskyi reports, citing the publication’s own statement.
Thus, on April 11, the last issue of the project “Svoboda.Ranok” was released, which was broadcast on the YouTube channel of Radio Liberty and the Espresso TV channel for more than two years. According to the Espresso TV channel, this project was one of the highest-rated in the program schedule.
Starting April 14, the editorial office will additionally send some of its employees in Kyiv and Lviv on forced downtime. Mariana Drach, the director of the Ukrainian editorial office, explained the situation:
“This is a necessary step while Radio Liberty is fighting for the right to receive funding from the US Congress in American courts. Before that, on April 1, a part of the staff in Prague from various language services went on partially paid leave.”
Due to funding restrictions, Radio Liberty has also significantly reduced its cooperation with freelancers. In March, the podcasts Dialogues with Portnikov and Historical Freedom, featuring freelance writers Vitaliy Portnikov and Dmytro Shurkhalo, were suspended.
Despite the difficult situation, Radio Liberty continues to operate key projects. The media continues to cover events at the front, provide information to residents of the occupied territories through the Crimea.Realities and Donbas.Realities projects, conduct investigative journalism as part of the Schemes project, and broadcast the Freedom Live news and analysis program every weekday evening.
on April 10, Radio Liberty filed a new urgent request with the court in Washington, D.C., asking it to order the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) to pay the funds that the U.S. Congress allocated to the organization in April.
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Radio Liberty vs. the Trump Administration
On March 14, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to cut seven federal agencies, including the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty media corporation, Voice of America, and some other media outlets.
After that, it became known that the grant approved by Congress that finances the activities of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty was terminated.
In this regard, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty filed a lawsuit against the USAGM and its officials Kari Lake and Victor Morales. The goal is to block the decision to terminate the federal grant that funds the organization’s activities.
In its court complaint, RFE/RL argued that the denial of funding violates US federal laws. In particular, it was argued that Congress has exclusive power over the allocation of budgetary funds, and the USAGM’s decision to terminate the grant contradicts the US Constitution.
“Now is not the time to give way to propaganda and censorship by America’s enemies. We believe the law is on our side and that the celebration of our demise by despots around the world is premature,”
– said RFE/RL President Stephen Capus.
on March 26, a US court suspended the process of closing Radio Liberty and issued a restraining order. The court ruling explicitly stated that the USAGM’s actions to terminate the grant appeared to be “arbitrary and capricious.” The court emphasized that the implementation of the original decision would have caused “irreparable harm” to the broadcaster.
The USAGM then reversed its earlier decision to terminate funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). However, by reversing the decision to terminate the grant, USAGM reserved the right to reconsider the issue of funding in the future. This means that the conflict may continue.
As of today, the grant agreement has been renewed, and Radio Liberty continues to operate. However, the agreement expires on September 30 this year, and it is very likely that a new agreement will not be signed.
What is known about Radio Liberty and its funding
RFE/RL is an independent international media organization that provides access to objective information in countries where freedom of speech is under threat. It reaches nearly 50 million listeners in 23 countries, including
- russia;
- Ukraine;
- Iran
- Afghanistan
- Pakistan;
- Countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus.
RFE/RL is funded through the United States Agency for International Development (USAGM) with funds appropriated by the U.S. Congress.
