Moscow: Ukraine Drifts Toward 'Totalitarian Practices of Suppression of Dissent'

Ukraine's decision to close Russian media outlets lead the country toward the "totalitarianism" rather than to the European democracy, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Mass closure of Russian media outlets and online resources in Ukraine is a gross violation of principles of freedom of speech.

"The mass closure of Russian media and internet resources in Ukraine, large-scale persecution and pressure on Ukrainian journalists are acts of gross violations of fundamental principles of freedom of expression," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry called on countries of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Council of Europe to join it in condemnation of Kiev’s "barbarian and criminal" policy regarding media.

"Unfortunately, we have to state that Ukraine’s ‘European way’ is a journey in time to the worst totalitarian practices of suppression of dissent," the statement read.

The Russian-Ukrainian relations deteriorated as a violent military conflict in Donbass started in 2014 after the residents of the region refused to recognize the new Ukrainian government that came to power in what they perceived to be a coup.

In February 2015, the parties to the Ukrainian conflict signed the Minsk peace accords to end the fighting in the crisis-torn region.