KIEV, July 8. /TASS/. Ukraine’s Newsone TV channel has cancelled the Kiev-Moscow TV bridge due to threats of physical violence against its employees, the channel reported on Monday.

"Due to the direct threats of physical harm that the channel, journalists and their families received, Newsone announces that the "Need to Talk" TV marathon has been cancelled," the TV channel said on its official website.

The channel recalled that it "was planning to organize the first non-political TV bridge between people from Ukraine and Russia." The threats against its employees, the channel branded as Ukraine’s return to "the times of direct intimidation and pressure on freedom of journalists."

"We want that peace was established in Ukraine, but there are forces that represent the war party, who will not favor this outcome," the statement reads.

On Sunday, July 7, the Vesti with Dmitry Kiselyov program on Rossiya-1 TV channel was reported that on July 12 between 18:00 and 20:00 the channels will host a Kiev-Moscow TV bridge entitled "Need to Talk". It was supposed that the TV bridge will be held along with Ukrainian Newsone TV channel, part of Chairman of the political council of Ukraine’s Opposition Platform - For Life party Viktor Medvedchuk’s media group.

Many Ukrainian politicians and a number of political parties strongly opposed this idea. Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukrainian Parliament, Andrey Parubiy called to strip Newsone of its license. The Ukrainian Security Service sent a message to the heads of the Novosti media holding (112 Ukraine, Newsone, ZIK TV channels), warning about the accountability for staging joint events with Rossiya TV channel and "other broadcasters of an aggressor state, who are placed under sanctions by National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine." The Security service also proposed introducing special economic and other sanctions against the legal entities who are using 112 Ukraine and Newsone logos for broadcasting purposes.

The TV channel headquarters is seeing a rally of protesters against the TV bridge on Monday. The nationalist forces also promised to stage a rally in front of the Ukrainian presidential administration office at 14:00 local time, demanding immediate reaction from the Ukrainian leader in response to this initiative.