Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of Russia's English-language television network, Russia Today, posted a tweet in the wee hours of Thursday morning in which she appeared to declare Ukraine dead. The tweet, which was written in both Russian and English translates to "R.I.P. Ukraine:"

Украина. R.I.P. — Маргарита Симоньян (@M_Simonyan) April 24, 2014

Russia Today did not immediately respond to a request from Business Insider asking what Simonyan's message meant.

Update (4/30/14 12:03 pm): Russia Today spokeswoman Anna Belkina said she initially missed our request and sent a comment about Simonyan's tweet to Business Insider:

"Ms. Simonyan’s tweet was an expression of grief related to the escalation of tensions in Ukraine, as it is likely to result in grim consequences for the Ukrainian people on all sides of the crisis," Belkina said. "It was posted in the early hours of April 24, shortly after the first information about clashes between Ukrainian military and protesters in eastern Ukraine appeared in news reports."

The network's coverage of Russia's military action in Ukraine has earned widespread criticism, including internally. In March, RT anchor and correspondent Liz Wahl resigned during a live broadcast after claiming the network "whitewashes the actions of Putin."

"Russian intervention in Crimea is wrong and indeed, as a reporter on this network, I face many ethical and moral challenges," Wahl said.

