Yuliya Shatilova, a journalist from Zvezda, a TV channel controlled by the Russian Defence Ministry, has been barred from entering Lithuania.

"The person flew in from Moscow" with an "invalid visa", Rokas Pukinskas, spokesman for the State Border Guard Service, told BNS.

Shatilova arrived in Vilnius on Friday and returned to Moscow several hours later.



Read more: Sputnik editor barred from entering Lithuania

"On the same day, the person left for Moscow. It's not a deportation. It's a refusal to let the person enter Lithuania's territory," said Pukinskas, adding that it wasn't Lithuania that issued and later withdrew the visa.

Based on Russian media reports, Shatilova's Schengen visa, issued last year, was cancelled by Latvia.



Zvezda, meaning 'the star' in Russian, was launched in 2005. It describes itself as “patriotic”, according to StopFake.org fact-checking website, and is "known for a style bordering on tabloid journalism – and for spreading outright disinformation".



Its has routinely featured fake news about migrants in Europe, 'crimes' of the Ukrainian military and government, and other stories.

Over 6,000 people were barred from entering Lithuania last year.