All 15 of Discovery's channels have stopped airing in Russia following the Ukraine invasion ©Discovery

Olympic Games rights-holder Discovery has announced that it has suspended the broadcast of its channels in Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

Eurosport is among 15 channels run by Discovery that will no longer be aired in Russia as Vladimir Putin’s forces continue to attack Ukrainian cities.

Discovery’s channels are distributed in Russia through a partnership with Media Alliance - a joint venue with the Russian National Media Group which runs state broadcaster Channel One.

"Discovery has decided to suspend the broadcast of its channels and services in Russia," a statement from Discovery read.

Discovery is the latest media company to boycott Russia after the likes of Amazon, WarnerMedia and Netflix decided to suspend operations in response to the war in Ukraine.

Under a new Russian law, journalists could be jailed for up to 15 years should they describe Russia’s actions in Ukraine as a "war" or "invasion".

The censorship resulted in Western media outlets, including the New York Times, CNN and Bloomberg News, temporarily halting their work in Russia.

Olympic sponsors Coca-Cola and AirBnB are among many major companies that have suspended business in Russia in the wake of the Ukraine invasion.

Journalists in Russia could be jailed for up to 15 years should they describe the country's actions in Ukraine as a
Journalists in Russia could be jailed for up to 15 years should they describe the country's actions in Ukraine as a "war" or "invasion" ©Getty Images

In 2015, Discovery signed a long-term deal with the International Olympic Committee to be the European media rights holder from 2018 to 2024.

The €1.3 billion (£1.1 billion/$1.6 billion) agreement covered Pyeongchang 2018, Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 as well as Paris 2024.

It was said to apply to every European territory, except for Russia, accounting for 53 countries in total.

The only other exceptions were France - now set to host the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics - and Britain for the 2018 and 2020 Games, since those rights had already been sold.

It was said at the time that Discovery, which had bought Eurosport a year previously, would sub-licence a portion of the rights in "many markets across Europe".

The deal also marked a change with the IOC’s previous system of working with a consortium of public broadcasters throughout the continent.

Russian state channel Match TV has refused to show coverage of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics, following the expulsion of the Russian team from the Games.

It described the International Paralympic Committee’s decision as "politically-motivated".