Translated material
Poroshenko approved sanctions against Simonyan and Ernst
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko approved the decision of the National Security and Defense Council to impose personal sanctions against the leaders of a number of Russian media. In particular, the list includes Channel One CEO Konstantin Ernst, Russia Today Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan, TASS CEO Sergei Mikhailov, and former LifeNews TV channel CEO Ashot Gabrelyanov.
The message on the website of the President of Ukraine states that sanctions have been imposed against people who “create real and potential threats to national interests, national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, promote terrorist activities and violate the rights and freedoms of a citizen, lead to the occupation of territories and create obstacles for the full realization by citizens of Ukraine of proper rights and freedoms.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine must inform the competent authorities of the European Union, the United States of America and other states about the imposition of sanctions and raise the issue of applying similar restrictive measures to the persons concerned.
- Ukraine, in connection with the annexation of Crimea to Russia and the conflict in Donbass, has imposed sanctions against many Russian politicians, officials, media representatives and cultural figures.
- On May 26, the Security Service of Ukraine announced a ban on Mikhail Gorbachev from entering the country. The SBU said that the sanctions against him were imposed "for public support for the military annexation of Crimea." On May 22, The Sunday Times published an interview with Gorbachev, in which the first president of the USSR approved the decision to annex Crimea to Russia.