The senior news anchor of Russia’s state-owned television network RT has resigned “on principle” just days after the country’s 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.
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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.
However, he resigned from his post on Monday in light of the current situation in Russia. Speaking exclusively to WalesOnline from Moscow on Tuesday, he confirmed the news and paid tribute to his colleagues.
“I resigned on principle,” said Mr Owen. “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.”
Mr Owen did not wish to comment further at this stage, but notified his now former employers on Monday of his intention to quit the role.
The decision comes just days after Russia launched numerous attacks on its neighbour Ukraine in an invasion which has been largely condemned across Europe and beyond. A number of economic sanctions have been imposed on the country, and FIFA and UEFA have confirmed that all Russian teams have been suspended from all football competitions.
RT has received heavy criticism over many years for being a ‘mouthpiece’ for Russia’s president Vladimir Putin. Question marks over its impartiality have been magnified in the past few days following the invasion of Ukraine, with YouTube and Facebook banning the network from its platforms in Europe.
Meanwhile, as RT is available in English in the UK on Freeview, Ofcom has opened 15 investigations into the “due impartiality of news programmes on the channel”.
Kevin Owen moved to Moscow in the mid-2000s having graduated from Cardiff University in the 1980s before going on to work for the BBC, HTV and Sky.
RT has been contacted for comment.
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