Russian President Vladimir Putin, during his state visit to India, attended the launch ceremony of RT India TV channel along with Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the RT media group and state TV channel, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
The studio was set up in New Delhi. The channel, as he himself says, will cover the role of India and Russia “in a multipolar world” and “help Indian audiences learn more about Russia.”
Putin called the opening of the channel “an important event”, “because it gives millions of Indian citizens an opportunity to perceive closer, more accurately information about what Russia thinks, how it lives, what it strives for.”
Western countries have imposed sanctions on RT primarily due to its role in news coverage of the war in Ukraine. RT is seen in the West as an instrument of Russian state propaganda.
Simonyan herself is under sanctions from Ukraine, the European Union, Canada, the UK, the US and other countries.
In April 2024, the Security Service of Ukraine reported that a criminal case had been opened against Simonyan. It was alleged that she had been vocal in calling for the killing of Ukrainian children and had also “repeatedly agitated for continued strikes on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure.” Simonyan has repeatedly come out in favour of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Putin visited India for the first time since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.
Moscow maintains close relations with New Delhi, in particular India buys weapons from Russia and remains a major consumer of Russian oil.