The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced that Canada is imposing further sanctions in relation to Russia's illegal invasion and attempted annexation of Ukrainian territory.
President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine is based on lies and deception. Russian disinformation operations have enlisted celebrities and so-called news organizations to echo the Kremlin's talking points and attempt to justify the atrocities happening across Ukraine.
This has resulted in the rallying of misguided support to the Russian regime and prolonging the suffering of millions of innocent Ukrainians. This is why Canada is sanctioning 38 individuals and 16 entities that are complicit in peddling Russian disinformation and propaganda.
This list includes, but is not limited to:
- MIA Rossiya Segodnya, a state-owned media company that unites Russian-language information resources RIA Novosti, PRIME, InoSMI, TOK, KOT, Baltnews, Ukraina.ru, Social Navigator and Arctic.ru;
- United World International and Foundation for the Fight Against Repression, disinformation actors closely linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder and owner of Wagner PMC.
- Nikolay Victorovich Baskov, a popular singer and TV host who has visited Russian troops in occupied Ukraine and performed in a pro-war and pro-regime concert on Red Square in Moscow in support of the illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory.
Canada is taking active steps to fight back against Russian disinformation as part of its efforts to support Ukraine. Cultural icons and media organizations cannot be allowed to freely leverage their status to promote falsehoods and unjustifiable support for Putin's war.
These measures take into account the efforts of our American, British, Ukrainian and other European partners. Canada will continue to work with international partners to apply additional pressure on the Russian regime.
