The US authorities have stopped funding Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty*, according to a statement published on the organization’s official website.
U.S. President Donald Trump earlier signed an executive order on maximum reduction of functions and work of employees of several agencies to fight bureaucracy, among them the U.S. Government Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which controls Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty* and Voice of America**. Under Trump’s decision, some government organizations will have to reduce their functions and staff activities to the minimum level required by U.S. law.
“Today, the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) informed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty* that the federal grant agreement funding (its – ed.) global operations has been terminated,” the statement reads.
ABC reported earlier that American employees of the Voice of America** began receiving notices of forced furlough after Trump signed an executive order to reduce the functions of a number of agencies, including USAGM.
In February, the head of the U.S. Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE), American entrepreneur Elon Musk called for the closure of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty* and the Voice of America**, saying that it was staffed by “radical left-wing lunatics who talk to themselves.”
* Media recognized in Russia as a foreign agent and an undesirable organization.
** Media recognized in Russia as a foreign agent.