If the European authorities impose new sanctions against Russian channels, we will stop broadcasting. No regulatory authority has asked us to stop broadcasting private Russian television channels.
Philipoff and Lange have been trying to get the attention of politicians.
It's not clear how Paris or Brussels could force Eutelsat to block those Russian channels. The European Parliament should have the power to remove Russian-language TV from their satellites if they ban the English-language Sputnik andRT stations. In May, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told the EU Parliament they would ban three new broadcasters, in whatever shape or form, be it on cable, satellite, or the internet.
The three broadcasters are Russian-language news networks that reach Europe with help from Eutelsat's satellites.
Eutelsat told WIRED that they are aware of the European Union's intention to sanction three Russian channels, two of which are broadcast on our satellites, and they are ready to cease broadcasting them as soon as the corresponding European regulation is published.
The United States recently slapped sanctions on three Russian-language TV stations, including NTV, after concluding that they are spreading misinformation to bolster Putin's war.
Going after the satellites would be disruptive. Both Moscow and Kyiv are interested in satellite communications.
Western intelligence agencies say that Russian hackers targeted American satellite provider Viasat in the hours before the invasion.
The State Special Communications Service of Ukraine announced that a broadcast from the Russian was going to take place.
WIRED has reported that Ukrainians are aggressively installing Starlink terminals, while Russian satellite communications are still unreliable.
Europe isn't limited to Eutelsat's satellite television. Konnect is a home internet provider owned by Eutelsat. The Russian state satellite operator has a small stake in Eutelsat. Most of the 3.62 percent ownership stake corresponds to the Russian Satellite Communications Company, according to corporate documents.
Some two dozen countries make up the Moscow-based Intersputnik consortium. The Czech Republic is one of its members. France will join Intersputnik in 2020.
Intersputnik was privatized after the fall of the USSR. A senior civil servant in the Russian government is the chair of the organization's board.
Intersputnik could allow Russia to launch and maintain satellite service as the West continues to divorce Russia.
The Diderot Committee hopes that the current fight will enable more open flows of information in the future. Catherine II invited the French philosopher Denis Diderot to come to Russia just nine days after the coup that put her on the throne. Diderot arrived in St. Petersburg in October of 1773.
One of the most important works of the Enlightenment may never have been published if Russia hadn't pushed back against France's censorship.
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