Senior British RT news anchor QUITS over Putin's war in Ukraine: Kevin Owen resigns 'on principle' after 15 years at Russian state media channel

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The senior news anchor of Russia's state-owned television network RT has resigned 'on principle' after the country's brutal invasion of Ukraine.

Kevin Owen worked for RT - formerly known as Russia Today - for more than 15 years, having joined the channel in 2006.

He had previously worked in the UK in national and regional media, fronting nightly news broadcasts for both BBC Wales and HTV Wales.

He rose to become the main news anchor on the state-owned Russian news network, and was awarded the prize 'News Anchor of the Year' in 2008.

But he resigned from his post on Monday in light of the brutal war raging across Ukraine.

It comes after the UK's culture secretary said RT will be booted off Sky television 'shortly'.

Nadine Dorries said the move would mean 'Putin's polluting propaganda machine' would be 'severely restricted' in Britain.

Kevin Owen (pictured) worked for RT - formerly known as Russia Today - for more than 15 years, having joined the channel in 2006

Nikki Aaron: The glamorous Emmy-award nominated journalist trumpeting Kremlin lines

In late 2015, she relocated to Moscow to join the RT team at the Moscow HQ, where she now appears as a regular news anchor and reporter on the flagship world news programme

Nikki Aaron is one of the faces of Russian state-backed TV station RT International. Based in Moscrow, the Emmy-nominated journalist, boasts previous experience at the BBC and ITV on her Linkedin profile.

She is said to have left the UK, with a degree from the University of Leicester, to relocate to communist China in 2007, where she launched a fashion and lifestyle magazine in Beijng. Aaron, who, according to her public Instagram page, lives in Moscow with her husband and two children, moved to China's state backed CNC outlet to work on their World News team. While there she was awarded several Golden Eagle Awards for excellence in television production. In late 2015, she relocated to Moscow to join the RT team at the Moscow HQ, where she now appears as a regular news anchor and reporter on the flagship world news programme. 

In 2019, she was nominated for an Emmy Award for her role in presenting RT's coverage of the 2018 tragic shopping mall fire in Siberia's Kemerovo, which claimed the lives of 64 people, many of them children. 

On her website she describes herself as 'a well-trusted and capable host, guiding audiences through some of the most significant events in recent years, from marathon coverage of the Brexit referendum to the 2016 US Presidential election, and picking up several awards along the way for her role in presenting coverage of the 2017 German election and Catalonia protests'. According to her website she is studying a Masters Degree in International Relations and World Order at the University of Leicester. 

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Mr Owen confirmed last night he was stepping down and paid tribute to his colleagues, telling Wales Online: 'I resigned on principle.

'I will very much miss the vast amount of very talented and kind colleagues and management who I had the pleasure of working with over many years.'

He added that he had told bosses he quit on Monday but refused to comment further.

The journalist moved to Moscow in the mid-2000s after working for the BBC, HTV and Sky following studying at Cardiff University in the 1980s.

His dramatic exit came on the day UK Culture Secretary Ms Dorries said RT would no longer be available on Sky.

She said the move would mean 'Putin's polluting propaganda machine' would be 'severely restricted' in Britain.

She tweeted: 'Shortly, the French satellite which broadcasts Russia Today in both the EU and UK will be switched off. This means RT will no longer be available via Sky.

'Putin's polluting propaganda machine will now have severely restricted access into British homes via our TV screens.'

Earlier video-sharing website YouTube blocked channels linked to RT and Sputnik across Europe, including the UK.

The Google-owned platform said the ban was effective immediately though it may take some time for the block to become fully effective.

The tech giant previously limited the ability for RT and other Russian channels to make money from adverts on videos but has extended its sanctions.

Google Europe said: 'Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, we're blocking YouTube channels connected to RT and Sputnik across Europe, effective immediately.

'It'll take time for our systems to fully ramp up. Our teams continue to monitor the situation around the clock to take swift action.'

Facebook also blocked access to RT and Sputnik on its platform having previously also limited those channels' ability to make advertising revenue.

The change means the pages of the organisations are not visible on Facebook or Instagram in the EU, but for now, they remain visible in the UK.

Former UK deputy prime minister Sir Nick Clegg, who is now vice president of global affairs at Meta, said the firm had been asked by governments to take further action.

He tweeted: 'We have received requests from a number of Governments and the EU to take further steps in relation to Russian state-controlled media.

'Given the exceptional nature of the current situation, we will be restricting access to RT and Sputnik across the EU at this time.'

Nikki Aaron, a presenter on the state-controlled TV channel, said Britons and Americans would be 'waking up to sensational headlines' about Russia's decision to send troops into Ukraine - a move which has been widely condemned across the world

Ms Aaron also regurgitated Kremlin lines claiming civilians were safe, that Russia did not plan to occupy Ukraine and that the invasion was a 'military operation' launched by Putin in the defence of separatist in the Donbass region.

The EU has banned the channel, formerly known as Russia Today, but Foreign Secretary Liz Truss warned a similar move in the UK was likely to lead to the BBC being banned in Russia

Last week Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries used a letter to Ofcom to accuse RT, previously known as Russia Today, of being 'demonstrably part of Russia's global disinformation campaign' 

The son of ITV and Classic FM legend John Suchet who became the face of Putin-backed RT International: Who is Rory Suchet?

Rory Suchet is a presenter for Russian state-backed RT International

Rory Suchet is a presenter for Russian state-backed RT International.

He is the son of legendary ITV presenter John Suchet, who also was a long-term presenter of radio station Classic FM. 

He originally started broadcasting in the early 90s as a rock-fm radio DJ for TK101 the Rock Station in Florida.

In 2001 Rory left rock radio and joined the CNN Radio Network. 

After hosting CNN Radio, Rory joined CNN International TV as a coordinating producer/editor/writer and journalist, winning three awards for investigate journalism.

In 2009 he joined RT International, where he continues to work as a presenter to this day. 

Rory has previously come under fire retweeting information accusing the west of anti-Russian bias. 

But he has previously been backed by father John, who covered the Soviet–Afghan War for ITV in the 1980s

Speaking about his son's job  in 2014: 'He's learning his trade as a newscaster and I'm proud of him.'

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The UK's media regulator Ofcom on Monday launched 15 investigations into the 'due impartiality' of state-backed Russian broadcaster RT.

The move, which increases the likelihood of RT losing its UK licence, relates to 15 editions of its hourly news show aired on Sunday. 

The EU banned the channel but Foreign Secretary Liz Truss warned a similar move in the UK was likely to lead to the BBC being banned in Russia. 

She added: 'We want the Russian population to hear the truth about what Putin is doing.'

Ofcom revealed it had 'observed a significant increase' in the number of shows on the broadcaster that 'warrant investigation under our Broadcasting Code'.

It is understood the probes mainly centre on reporting from correspondents on the ground - in places like the Donbas region of Ukraine - rather than the studio.

RT, which has a number of British presenters and reporters, has reportedly referred to the invasion of Ukraine as a 'special military operation'.

Ofcom said it was expecting 'full-cooperation from RT', adding the investigations will be 'expedited' given the 'severity and urgency of the current crisis'.

On Sunday, Boris Johnson said the channel had been 'peddling' content that was 'doing a lot of damage to the truth', and called for Ofcom to look at whether it was 'infringing the rules of this country'.

Last week Culture Secretary Ms Dorries used a letter to Ofcom to accuse RT of being 'demonstrably part of Russia's global disinformation campaign'.

But on Monday Miss Truss admitted any move to ban the channel here could lead to retaliation against UK broadcasters like the BBC.

She told Parliament: 'We are looking at what can be done on RT but the reality is that if we ban RT in the United Kingdom, that is likely to lead to channels like the BBC being banned in Russia.'

The Foreign Secretary added: 'And what we want is we want the Russian population to hear the truth about what Vladimir Putin is doing.'

Ofcom CEO Dame Melanie Dawes said: 'Given the serious on-going situation in Ukraine, we will be concluding our investigations into RT as a matter of urgency.'

Alex Salmond said last week he was suspending his chat show on the Kremlin-backed network RT 'until peace is re-established' in Ukraine

The Russian state-backed channel facing a possible Ofcom review: What is RT? 

RT, previously known as Russia Today, is a Russian state-backed news channel, based in the UK. 

Launched in 2014, it is funded by the federal tax budget of the Russian government.

The UK media regulator, Ofcom, has repeatedly found RT to have breached its rules on impartiality and on one occasion found it had broadcast 'materially misleading' content. 

In September 2015, Ofcom found RT in breach of the impartiality rules in its coverage of the events in Ukraine and Syria.

Media regulator Ofcom this week launched 15 investigations into the 'due impartiality' of state-backed Russian broadcaster RT

In December 2018, Ofcom ruled that seven programmes broadcast by RT between 17 March and 26 April of that year, in the wake of the Salisbury poisonings, had breached the UK's impartiality rules.

RT said it was 'extremely disappointed by Ofcom's conclusions', but it was fined £200,000.

It closed for TV broadcasting on 30 July 2021. But it still runs live streams via its English-speaking website.

Nadine Dorries yesterday ordered Ofcom to take 'timely and transparent' action against Russia Today amid growing concerns it is spreading propaganda during the Ukraine crisis.

The Culture Secretary wrote to the broadcast regulator to raise concerns that the Kremlin-backed outfit could 'look to spread harmful disinformation' in the UK.