Russian authorities have refused to renew the visa of a Spanish journalist, forcing the reporter to leave the country within 24 hours at a time when analysts say it's growing harder for foreign media to cover Russia.
A Russian official told Xavier Colas, a Moscow correspondent for the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, that his visa would not be renewed, the paper reported on Thursday.
Colas has since left the country, according to El Mundo, which is one of Spain's largest newspapers. It's illegal for foreign correspondents to work inside Russia without a visa and accreditation from the Foreign Ministry.
"After 12 years reporting from Moscow, the Russian authorities have refused at the last minute to renew my journalist visa," Colas said in a Wednesday post on the social media platform X.
"I have only 24 hours to leave the country, leaving too much behind. I don't regret anything,' Colas said. "I've simply done my job: I've told what was going on."
Colas told El Mundo that he had been warned of repercussions for covering protests by Russian women calling for the return of their husbands fighting in the war in Ukraine.
Russia's embassy in Washington and El Mundo did not immediately reply to VOA's emails requesting comment.
The incident highlights how risky it has become for foreign reporters to continue working inside Russia in the two years following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Two American journalists — Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva — are jailed in Russia on charges that are widely viewed as baseless and politically motivated.
Their cases also underscore the dangerous reporting climate inside Russia. It's unclear how many foreign correspondents remain inside the country.
Some information in this report came from Reuters.
