RT America, which has been putting a pro-Russian spin on the news of the day, including the country's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, is shuttering its operations and is laying off most of its staff, according to a memo obtained by CNN.

The memo cited "unforeseen business interruption events" and signaled the shuttering and layoffs would be permanent.

Also: DirectTV Drops RT

DirecTV had earlier signaled it was dropping the channel, a big distribution hit, over what was widely seen as a propaganda arm of the Russian government--the U.S. government for several years has required  it to register as a foreign agent.

Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube are all blocking the Web version of RT, though the channel tweeted defiantly earlier this week that it was still "alive and kicking" before T&R Productions, which produces the channel, signaled to staffers in the memo that neither was actually going to be the case.

The European Union this extended its sanctions on Russia to RT Russia and Sputnik.

Also: NAB Urges Broadcasters to Drop Russian State-Sponsored Content

The European council said Wednesday that given Russia's "unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine," RT broadcasts were suspended in the EU ((RT English, RT UK, RT Germany, RT France, and RT Spanish).

The EU said the suspension lasts "until the Russian Federation and its associated outlets cease to conduct disinformation and information manipulation actions against the EU and its member states," which it calls an operational tool in Russia's attack and a "direct threat to the Union's public order and security." The EU said both outlets are under either direct of indirect control of the Russian Federation. ■

RT, the Russian government-backed programmer, said it is launching a new dedicated news channel in the United Kingdom to go along with ones in the United States (RT America and RTDoc). RT UK will launch on the Freeview and Sky platforms on Oct. 30, broadcasting from new London studios.

“It has always been RT’s goal to bring new perspectives to our viewers – to show them the side of the story they won’t see on the mainstream channels,” Margarita Simonyan, RT’s editor in chief, said in a release. “Now, with a dedicated UK channel, we can serve the needs and interests of the British public by promoting debate and new ways of thinking about specifically British issues.”

On-air presences on RT UK will include anchor Bill Dod, financial commentator Max Keiser and investigative talk show host Afshin Rattansi, RT said. The new channel will start out with 5 hours of dedicated U.K. programming per day, including live news and documentaries and chat-shows, supplemented by other RT channels, including RT International.

As reported by The Guardian and other outlets, RT has faced criticism (including from resigning correspondents) about coverage of Russia and Ukraine slanted toward the Kremlin's messaging.