MFA calls on the world to expand sanctions against russian propagandist media

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine calls on the international community to expand sanctions against the russian media which spread propaganda and disinformation.

This is stated in the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine dedicated to the World Press Freedom Day.

The statement says that in 2014, when russia started the war against Ukraine, it destroyed freedom of speech in the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories. And the invasion of Ukraine by russian troops on February 24 marked a new stage of brutal repression of independent journalism in Ukraine.

"In more than two months, the russian invaders have killed more than twenty Ukrainian and foreign journalists. More than a hundred regional media outlets in the temporarily occupied territories were forced to shut down due to threats, destruction of editorial offices, and inability to work under temporary occupation. Radio Liberty journalist Vira Hyrych is a recent victim of russian armed aggression. Vira was killed in her house in the center of Kyiv when a russian missile hit it," the Foreign Ministry said.

At the same time, the Foreign Ministry draws attention to the fact that russia is waging an information war alongside military aggression.

"The list of crimes of the russian federation against the media in Ukraine – the murder and abduction of journalists, shelling and seizure of TV towers, hacking attacks on media websites. Ukrainian cities occupied or beseiged by russia are isolated from the Ukrainian information space, where Ukrainian broadcasting and the work of national Internet operators are blocked. In the occupied territories, russia is launching broadcasts of its propaganda channels, which are used for even greater informational expansion, justifying russia's invasion and inciting ethnic hatred," the statement said.

The Foreign Ministry notes that Ukraine, together with its international partners, is coordinating efforts to combat russian propaganda and disinformation. The Ministry thanks those countries that have stopped the broadcast of russian propaganda resources on their territories.

"We call on the international community to expand sanctions against the russian media, which spread propaganda and misinformation. The media of the aggressor state must be cut off from the possibility of distorting the facts about russia's war against Ukraine," the department said.

The Foreign Ministry also thanked Ukrainian and international journalists who, through hardship, often risking their lives, work in combat zones to cover the truth about russia's war crimes in Ukraine.