Ukraine, EU sanctions 4 pro-Russian propagandists

In his television and radio programs, the Council explains, Klyuchenkov “repeatedly incited violence” in Ukraine, including against civilians. Furthermore, he “called for the de-Ukrainization of the occupied territories, the occupation of the Baltic States and suggested retaliatory attacks against countries supporting Ukraine, including the United States, Turkey, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.”

Among the new sanctions is also the Russian journalist of Lithuanian origin Ernest Mackevičius who, as host of the evening news on Russian state television, has “regularly spread false narratives” about the war against Ukraine, about Ukraine itself, and about its armed forces.

Finally, the Council also sanctions the propagandist Graham Phillips and the “media personality” Adrien Bocquetof British and French origin respectively. Phillips played an “active role” in “justifying” the war in Ukraine through “disinformation” and “propaganda”, regularly filming content in Russian-occupied areas, including interviews with captured British fighters, and writing “propaganda articles” about Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories.

Adrien Bocquet has “repeatedly” presented himself as an “amplifier of Kremlin propaganda” in Europe and Russia, through appearances in symbolic places of the conflict, interviews on Russian television, publications on his X account and contributions to publications financed by the Kremlin. According to the Council, the four are “responsible for supporting the actions and policies of the Russian government, which undermine democracy, the rule of law, stability and security in the European Union and Ukraine”.

Now restrictive measures in view of Russia’s destabilizing activities apply, in total, to 69 natural persons and 17 entities. Persons included in the list are subject to an asset freeze and EU citizens and businesses are prohibited from making funds, financial assets or economic resources available to them. Natural persons are also subject to a travel ban, which prevents them from entering or transiting EU territories.