Canada announces new sanctions targeting Russian propagandists
Canada is sanctioning individuals and entities "who directly promote Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine," the Canadian Foreign Ministry announced on Nov. 10.
The new sanctions target nine individuals and six entities that make up a network "whose intent is to spread false narratives and propaganda as if it were expert opinion."
The individuals include Sara Lvovna Shor, a Russian singer who uses the stage name Jasmin . Her husband, Ihor Shor, is a Moldovan-Israeli businessman who headed a now-banned pro-Russian party.
After fleeing Moldova for Israel, he was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison for fraud and money laundering in April. He is included on Western sanctions lists.
Other individuals targeted by Canada in the new sanctions package include а number of Russian political scientists and historians.
These include Russian Society of Historians and Archivists President Aleksandr Chubaryan and Russian International Affairs Council President Igor Ivanov, a former foreign minister.
Among the entities are the newspapers Izvestia, Parliamentskaya Gazeta, the English-language media outlet Russia Beyond, and REN TV channel.
These people and entities attempt to legitimize the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Foreign Ministry said.
"We continue to condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia’s use of war propagandists to justify its full-scale invasion of Ukraine," Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said.
"We call on Putin and his collaborators to immediately put an end to this unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine," Joly said.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal held a meeting with Natalka Cmoc, the new ambassador of Canada to Ukraine, in Kyiv on Oct. 27 and thanked her for Canada's support in matters of defense, finance, and the confiscation of Russian assets.
Between February 2022 and September 2023, Canada provided Ukraine with $1.8 billion in military support.
Nate Ostiller
