MOSCOW, May 17. /TASS/. The European Union’s broadcasting ban for a number of Russian media outlets is seen as political censorship and the continuation of the policy of mopping up information space off alternative points of view, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"We consider this EU step as the continuation of the practices of political censorship, total mopping up of information space of any viewpoints that differ from the Western narratives," she said.

According to the Russian diplomat, the EU decision is based "solely on political motives."

"The use of repressive measures against the Russian mass media and their employees in the European Union will not remain unanswered," she stressed. "Ignoring these warnings forces us to take response measures, which will inevitably follow. Responsibility for such developments rests entirely on the European Union and the EU capitals, which supported this decision."

Earlier in the day, the European Council suspended the broadcasting activities of tree Russian mass media outlets, namely RIA Novosti, Izvestia and Rossiyskaya Gazeta, and the Prague-based Voice of Europe portal in EU countries for "spreading and supporting the Russian propaganda and war of aggression against Ukraine.".