RT Anchor Quits Job After Criticizing Putin

This TV anchor sure is going out with a bang: RT anchor Liz Wahl quit her job live on television Wednesday night because she refuses to be "part of a network that whitewashes the actions" of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Wahl said that she could not work for a network that supports the invasion of Ukraine. This is the second time this week that an RT reporter has spoken out against Russia's actions. On Monday, RT's Abby Martin said that she would not defend military action in Crimea on her news program. RT is funded by the Kremlin.

RT has defended Russia's actions in Ukraine as necessary to protect the people there. But Wahl obviously disagrees with her employer's views, saying that her family came to America to escape Soviet forces in Hungary and that her partner is a physician on an American military base. Wahl says RT distorted the truth.

“It actually makes me feel sick that I worked there,” Wahl told The Daily Beast. “It’s not a sound news organization, not when your agenda is making America look bad.”

She also expressed her support on Twitter for Martin's decision to speak up.

Martin is being sent to Crimea to report on the situation firsthand, according to RT. The network says it respects the views she expressed on Monday, including this:

"Just because I work here, for RT, doesn't mean I don't have editorial independence, and I can't stress enough how strongly I am against any military intervention in sovereign nations' affairs. What Russia did is wrong."

Martin also said that she hopes the power play in Russia will not lead to another Cold War and will not further injure the Ukrainian people.

"Contrary to the popular opinion, RT doesn’t beat its journalists into submission, and they are free to express their own opinions, not just in private but on the air," according to a statement from the network.

Image: Russian TV