Russian media organisations and bosses sanctioned by UK over Ukraine war

A major Russian broadcaster, a state-owned media group and senior media executives have been added to the UK’s sanctions list for spreading “propaganda” about the war in Ukraine.

The Foreign Office said the Kremlin-backed TV-Novosti, which controls the RT news channel and the state-owned Rossiya Segodnya, responsible for the Sputnik news agency, were among 14 new entries to the sanctions list.

Sergey Brilev, a presenter on the Rossiya channel, RT’s managing director Alexey Nikolov and Sputnik’s editor-in-chief Anton Anisimov were also sanctioned.

The chief executive of Gazprom-Media Aleksandr Zharov, a former head of the federal service for supervision of communications, information technology and mass media (Roskomnadzor) was also added as Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said she was targeting “shameless propagandists” who supported Vladimir Putin’s “fake news and narratives”.

The Foreign Office said that following Ofcom’s decision to revoke RT’s broadcasting licence, these sanctions will ensure the channel will not be able to find its way back on UK televisions.

The measures will prevent companies and individuals operating in the UK from doing business with “Russian state propaganda vehicles” RT and Sputnik.

Ms Truss said: “Putin’s war on Ukraine is based on a torrent of lies. Britain has helped lead the world in exposing Kremlin disinformation, and this latest batch of sanctions hits the shameless propagandists who push out Putin’s fake news and narratives.

“We will keep on going with more sanctions to ramp up the pressure on Russia and ensure Putin loses in Ukraine. Nothing and no-one is off the table.”

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said: “Putin’s propaganda machine has been working overdrive to spread misinformation and distract from his barbaric actions in Ukraine.

“These sanctions will target those who are complicit in covering up the Russian state’s actions. We will not hesitate to act further against individuals and organisations attempting to deceive people about this misguided war.”

The UK has also fast-tracked sanctions against another seven individuals connected to the Strategic Culture Foundation – an online journal accused of spreading disinformation – who were recently sanctioned by Australia.

One non-media sanction announced on Thursday was for a Russian military commander linked to the devastation in the port city of Mariupol in southern Ukraine.

Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, dubbed “the butcher of Mariupol”, is the chief of the national defence command and control centre, where Russian military operations are planned.