Former HTV presenter Kevin Owen quits job with Russia Today 'on principle'

A former HTV and BBC Wales presenter has quit his post as a senior anchor on a Russian state-owned television network "on principle", as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues.

Kevin Owen - who was educated at Cardiff University - resigned from his post with Russia Today, also known as RT, on Monday.

Mr Owen moved to Moscow in the mid-2000s and had worked for RT for more than 15 years after joining them in 2006.

He said: "I resigned on principle.

"I will very much miss the vast amount of very talented and kind colleagues and management who I had the pleasure of working with over many years."

Mr Owen said he did not wish to comment further at this stage, but that he had notified his now former employers on Monday of his intention to quit his job.

The decision comes just days after Russia launched numerous attacks on its neighbour Ukraine, in an invasion which has drawn international condemnation.

A number of economic sanctions have been imposed on the country, and FIFA and UEFA have confirmed that all Russian teams have been suspended from all football competitions.

RT has received heavy criticism over many years for being a 'mouthpiece' for Russia's president Vladimir Putin.

Twitter labels RT's posts as "Russia state-affiliated media", in a move designed to urge caution over the impartiality of its tweets.

Doubts over its impartiality have been magnified in the past few days following the invasion of Ukraine, with YouTube and Facebook banning the network from its platforms in Europe.

Meanwhile, as RT is available in English in the UK on Freeview, media regulator Ofcom has opened 15 investigations into the "due impartiality of news programmes on the channel".