Well-known Russian journalist Sergei Brilyov, a dual Russian-British citizen currently under British sanctions over his role in distributing anti-Ukraine propaganda, has quit the post of deputy director of Russia's State Television and Radio Corporation.
Brilyov wrote on Facebook on July 21 that he also stopped anchoring his News On Saturdays weekly television program, emphasizing that the last time he hosted it was on February 26, which is two days after Russia launched its ongoing unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
Brilyov also wrote that he returned from a business trip in South America in April and said he issued 33 special reports and documentaries from there, some in Spanish and some in Russian. It’s not clear whether any were broadcast, but he said he would start issuing some of the programs on Telegram. It’s also unclear whether he still works for Russian TV.
According to Brilyov, he underwent surgery for an unspecified health problem when he returned to Russia in April.
Brilyov is known as one of Russia's noted journalists loyal to the Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In 2018, Brilyov confirmed a report by now-jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny saying that he and his wife are British citizens, raising questions about legality of his membership on public councils at the Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry of Russia.
In 2011, Putin signed a law barring foreign-passport holders from membership on such councils.
The British government in March slapped Brilyov with personal sanctions, saying he was part of Russia's propaganda machine justifying Russia's aggression against Ukraine.