DirecTV announced that it will no longer carry RT America, a channel backed by the Russian government, in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

"In line with our previous agreement with RT America, we are accelerating this year's contract expiration timeline and will no longer offer their programming effective immediately," DirecTV said in a statement. 

The pay TV company's decision follows an earlier announcement from Roku that RT's app would be removed from its channel store in Europe. Also, Facebook owner Meta Platforms, along with another social media giant, TikTok, said they would block user access to RT and to Russian news agency Sputnik in the European Union. 

"When it comes to the Russian voice, or just a different perspective, it is not allowed to exist in the free media space, said Anna Belkina, RT's deputy editor-in-chief, responding to Reuters. 

DirecTV was spun off from AT&T last year and is now independently managed under a joint-venture arrangement 30% owned by private equity firm TPG. 

RT America remains available on Dish Network, as well as a few smaller cable systems, including Buckeye Cable. 

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.