In response to Russia's ongoing membership in the group, the Press Councils of Armenia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Ireland, Moldova, Norway, and Sweden suspended their membership in the Alliance of Independent Press Councils of Europe (AIPCE).

The press councils complained in a letter about the lack of meaningful debate surrounding Ukraine's move to expel Russia from the AIPCE, followed by Ukraine's resignation from the council on October 21.

“The fact that Ukraine is out, and Russia is in, makes it impossible for us to be part of AIPCE. We are in no position to pass judgment on the staff of the Russian Collegium, but in fact, there is no press freedom today and, specifically, no possibility for proper operation of self-regulation in Russia. The whole media sector is used in Putin’s hideous propaganda machinery," the report added.

"We are all behind AIPCE’s stated goals for European independent press and solid press councils in Europe. We would like to come back to an alliance where best practices, ideas, and common values can be shared democratically and respectfully. From this moment, we are suspending our membership in the AIPCE until our Ukrainian colleagues can join again. The logos and names of our press councils should immediately be removed from the AIPCE website,” the statement concluded.