Russia to Step Up Security for TV Station Executives Due to the Threat of Attacks from Ukraine
The Russian National Guard has placed the heads of Russian television channels under heightened protection due to fears of Ukrainian attacks.
According to them, the initiative to strengthen security came from Rosgvardia Chief Viktor Zolotov.
Now, security forces are escorting not only individual top executives but virtually all executives of federal TV channels.
An employee of one of the federal channels said that Rosgvardia officers now effectively provide constant escort to media executives.
At the same time, not all television executives are pleased with these measures, as heightened security effectively means the constant presence and monitoring by security forces.
According to another source, security measures have also been extended to TV hosts.
One Russian TV host recently celebrated his birthday in Moscow and arrived at the event accompanied by a security vehicle, the publication’s source reported.
Another source familiar with the leaders of the Russian propaganda apparatus confirmed the increased security.
Whereas previously TV channel executives were only occasionally accompanied by non-departmental security personnel subordinate to the Russian National Guard, the presence of security forces has now become significantly more noticeable.
Thus, the Russian authorities have effectively expanded the security system for television propaganda figures amid fears of possible Ukrainian strikes.
Efforts to strengthen security for Russian propagandists began in the first months of the full-scale war. However, initially, such measures applied primarily to the most prominent figures in Russian propaganda.
In particular, RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan publicly announced that she had stepped up her own security.
This came after the death of Daria Dugina, the daughter of Russian philosopher and “Russian World” ideologue Alexander Dugin. In August 2022, her car was blown up in the Moscow region, killing her.
Now, according to sources at “The Agency,” heightened security measures have been extended to a much wider circle of Russian media figures, including TV channel executives and TV hosts.
This is being reported by Russian media outlets.
As a reminder, Moscow’s Vnukovo and Sheremetyevo airports suspended flight arrivals and departures for the second night in a row following warnings from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the growing danger to civil aviation in Russian airspace.
Ukraine officially notified the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) that Russian airspace is unsafe. The notification followed repeated strikes by Ukrainian drones on Russian territory.
Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) issued a NOTAM stating that all documents published by Ukraine regarding the danger of flying in Russian airspace have no legal force.
