The Information Policy Ministry has said Russia has been trying to misuse YouTube tools for the purposes of imposing restrictions on freedom of speech.

"In the past few years, the Russian Federation has been using the YouTube community rules to remove information highlighting the real situation in occupied Crimea, in particular, about the persecution of citizens who have become hostages to Vladimir Putin's regime," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said it has been approached by the Center for Journalistic Investigations news agency whose video about the illegitimate detention of Crimean human rights activist Emir Usein Kuku could be blocked on YouTube at the initiative of Russia's Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor). It is noted that the Center for Journalistic Investigations is an officially registered media outlet in Ukraine, which was forced to move from Crimea to Kyiv after the Russian invaders started attacking its journalists and the ezine itself in 2014.

"Roskomnadzor's complaint is groundless and is of false and manipulative nature, aimed at concealing the truth about the crimes of the Russian Federation," the ministry said.

The ministry said such practices are unacceptable and the very fact of Roskomnadzor attempting to use YouTube’s tools for political purposes is shameful. "Such steps are aimed at suppressing freedom of speech, inciting hostility and neglecting basic human rights and freedoms," the ministry said.