The Dutch media regulator has granted a licence to Russian independent channel Dozhd, or TV Rain, the network said Tuesday, after Latvia revoked the broadcaster’s permit. The channel, which moved to Latvia after Russian authorities blocked its broadcasts for critical coverage of the war in Ukraine, was barred after Latvia accused it of breaching local laws. “TV channel Dozhd received a European licence for broadcasting. It was given by the Dutch media regulator for five years,” the network said on messaging app Telegram. “This means Dozhd may return to the cable network from which it was disconnected because of the revocation of its licence,” the network said. Dozhd said it would move its editorial offices to Amsterdam and the studio there “will become the main one as soon as employees receive work permits in the Netherlands”. It will however maintain some staff in Riga as Latvia remains “the most important” country for the channel in terms of editorial strategy. Latvia had accused Dozhd, which was founded in 2010 as the main opposition TV channel in Russia, of multiple violations that included allegedly supporting Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine. The channel was also accused of showing the annexed Crimean peninsula as part of Russia and failing to ensure Latvian language translation. Dozhd is planning to contest Latvian authorities’ decision to strip it of the license. “We will defend our reputation, for which we have worked for the past 13 years, in court,” Dozhd said. It will however not seek the return of the Latvian licence. Dozhd had previously dismissed the accusations as “unfair and absurd” and said it would remain on YouTube. Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, fear of aggression from Moscow has grown in Latvia, a neighbouring country that spent decades as part of the Soviet Union and where a quarter of the population are Russian speakers. The Latvian government had offered refuge to TV Rain and by mid-July, its programmes were back up and running, having been blocked in early March in Russia. Several other newsrooms have also found refuge in the Latvian capital Riga, including Novaya Gazeta Europe and Deutsche Welle’s Moscow branch.