Russia’s foreign ministry said today that it was closing the CBC’s Moscow bureau and removing visas and accreditation for the public broadcaster’s journalists.

Canada bans Russian state TV channel Russia Today.

“With regret we continue to notice open attacks on the Russian media from the countries of the so-called collective West who call themselves civilised,” Maria Zakharova, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, told.

“A decision has been taken to make retaliatory, I underscore retaliatory, measures in relation to the actions of Canada: the closure of the Moscow bureau of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, including the annulation of the accreditations and visas of their journalists.”