Russian TV channel says it is temporarily halting work

MOSCOW - Russian television channel Dozhd (Rain) is temporarily halting its work, its general director said on Thursday, after its website was blocked earlier this week.

Natalya Sindeeva issued a statement after Ekho Moskvy radio station, one of Russia's last remaining liberal media outlets, closed following pressure over its coverage of the war in Ukraine.

"We need strength to ... understand how we can work from here. We really hope that we will return to broadcasting and continue our work," Sindeeva said in the statement published on the channel's website.