A small radio station near Kansas City, Missouri, was criticized for airing a controversial Russian state-sponsored program. However, its owner has defended its act saying he is defending free speech.

Peter Schartel is paid $5,000 a month to air Radio Sputnik, the content of which is being dubbed “pro-Putin propaganda.” The radio program is being funded by the Russian government on Schartel broadcasting company’s KCXL station.

Schartel’s company is just one of two in the U.S. that accepts money from the Russian-backed program, according to the Associated Press.

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The program was first aired in January 2020 for financial purposes,  but it still continues, despite several condemnation over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Several people criticizing Schartel’s act have accused him of being a “traitor” and promoting misinformation during the war, which has claimed thousands of lives and has displaced millions.

Earlier this month, the Kansas City Star strongly criticized Schartel for “bombarding” listeners with “pro-Putin talk.”

“Supporting Radio Sputnik, especially during a time of war in Europe, is unpatriotic, if not un-American,” the Star wrote in a recent editorial. “We advise KCXL to drop all programming that paints (Russian President Vladimir) Putin in a positive light. The Russian president is no victim; he is for sure no war hero.”

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Despite facing criticism, Schartel continued airing the radio program, calling his act an exercise of his own free speech.

“Some will talk to me, but others will still call me a piece of whatever,” he told the AP. “What I am thankful for is we are still living in a country where they can call me up. Even if they aren’t thinking about free speech they’re exercising that right.”

A US branch of Rossiya Segodnya, which is operated by the Russian government, produces Radio Sputnik.

Amid the war in Ukraine, several people have accused Radio Sputnik of spreading false and misleading information.

On March 1, just a week into the Russia-Ukraine war, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) issued a statement  urging radio broadcasters in the US to exclude Radio Sputnik and other Russian-sponsored programs.

“We believe that our nation must stand fully united against misinformation and for freedom and democracy across the globe,” NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt said in a statement.