New restrictions on digital content have come into force in Ukraine. On the territory of the country, YouTube has blocked the channels of a number of Russian and pro-Russian cultural figures who systematically support Russia's armed aggression. This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing a statement from the Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD).
Scale of blocks
The decision to ban concerned the accounts of artists whose names have already been included in the sanctions lists of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC). The CCD clarified that the block affected resources of the show business and culture that openly propagate the war against Ukraine. The Center promised to continue working to stop the activities of pages of sanctioned persons and centers of Russian propaganda in the digital space.
Context: sanctions and suspicions
The blocking of the video hosting service is a continuation of a series of measures taken by Ukrainian authorities against Russian media personalities. Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree imposing sanctions against Yulia Latynina, Andrey Serebryansky, Gennady Balashov, Natalia Korolevskaya, and Tatyana Aksenenko.
At the same time, Ukrainian special services have stepped up their work to gather evidence against propagandists. In particular, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) issued a warrant for singer Grigory Leps. He is accused of financing violent actions by occupiers and justifying Russia's aggression. Also, in April, Ukrainian law enforcement announced a new suspicion against Nikolai Baskov, gathering additional evidence of the artist's involvement in propaganda activities.
