The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced that Canada is imposing further sanctions in relation to Russia's unjustifiable invasion and attempted annexation of Ukrainian territory. The announcement was made during the visit to Ottawa of human rights and media freedom activists Bill Browder and Evgenia Kara-Murza, wife of detained Russian opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza.
For years, the Kremlin has sought to undermine Ukraine's territorial integrity though state media and proxies that parrot President Putin's ahistorical talking points and patently false legal claims. It has also attempted to hide the truth by severely restricting media freedoms and smothering legitimate political dissent, detaining people, like Vladimir Kara-Murza, who have the courage to speak out against Putin's domestic repression and military aggression abroad. However, the Russian regime cannot obscure the effects of its imperialistic delusions. Those complicit in the justification of Russian human rights abuses must be held accountable.
That is why Canada is imposing sanctions on 34 individuals and 1 entity that are complicit in the dissemination of Russian disinformation and propaganda. These individuals and entity help assist the Russian regime in undermining the principles of state sovereignty and are responsible for spreading false narratives that serve as pretexts for the Russian regime's unjustifiable war.
These new sanctions are the latest example of Canada's efforts to support Ukraine as its counteroffensive surges to take back the land that is rightfully its own. Canada will continue to work with like-minded partners to impose further sanctions in response to Russia's human rights violations and its ongoing aggression against Ukraine.
