The US imposed sanctions against Alexander Ionov. According to his statements, the Russian government declared the media "foreign agents"

The US Treasury Department announced the introduction of sanctions against Russian citizens Alexander Ionov and Natalia Burlinova, as well as organizations associated with them.

Meduza has reported in detail on Alexander Ionov. In particular, he wrote statements to Roskomnadzor demanding that Russian media and journalists, including Meduza, Important Stories , and The Bell founder Elizaveta Osetinskaya , be recognized as “foreign agents.”

According to the US government, Ionov and Burlinova “support the Kremlin’s global negative influence operations and election interference activities” and play a role in efforts to “destabilize” the US and its partners.

According to a press release from the US Treasury, Ionov has been collaborating with the FSB since 2020 to “identify sociopolitical points of disagreement in the United States,” as well as with Yevgeny Prigozhin’s projects to spread disinformation.

Natalia Burlinova and her organization , Creative Diplomacy, were sanctioned because, according to US authorities, they are linked to Russian intelligence.