Russian lawmakers voted unanimously Wednesday to pass legislation allowing authorities to force any foreign media organization to register as a "foreign agent" under penalty of fines or a possible ban on operations in Russia. The legislation, passed 414 to 0 in retaliation for the registration of English-language Russian news network RT under a similar statute in the United States, was drafted hastily and is likely to be signed into law by Russian President Vladi­mir Putin by the end of the month.

RT, a Moscow-headquartered website and television channel that the U.S. government says is a propaganda outlet for the Kremlin, will register with U.S. authorities as a foreign agent, its editor said Thursday. The registration follows a months-long back-and-forth between RT and the Justice Department over whether it was required by U.S. law to register as an agent of the Russian government.

 It’s 1 pm, and Current Time America is on the air. The program is one of two stateside productions of Current Time, a 24-7 Russian-language TV channel headquartered in Prague. But this isn’t some Euro import or a start-up aimed at Russian expats—it’s run by the U.S. government. Launched in February, the project is a collaboration between two venerable broadcasters, Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. After Russia annexed Crimea, says Daisy Sindelar, the network’s director, “we realized that we were losing a messaging war.”