EU sanctions Russian entities, individuals for propaganda in support of war on Ukraine
The European Union has imposed sanctions on seven Russian individuals and five entities for disseminating propaganda in support of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, officials have said.
Photo:EU2017EE Estonian Presidency, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
The decision was announced by the Council of the EU on Friday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The Council said it had decided to impose “restrictive measures against seven Russian individuals and five entities responsible for conducting a digital information manipulation campaign called 'RRN’ (Recent Reliable News), aimed at distorting information and disseminating propaganda in support of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.”
The EU added: “This campaign, to which government bodies or bodies affiliated to the Russian State have participated, relies on fake web pages usurping the identity of national media outlets and government websites, as well as fake accounts on social media. This coordinated and targeted information manipulation is part of a broader hybrid campaign by Russia against the EU and the member states.”
EU sanctions entities linked to Russia’s military intelligence, presidential administration
The listed Russian entities include the online outlet Inforos and three of its founders, the PAP news agency reported.
The EU said: “Inforos is an online outlet which is closely linked to the Russian military intelligence (GRU), and is responsible for setting up more than 270 media proxy online outlets that disseminate propaganda in support of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.”
Other sanctioned entities and individuals include: ANO Dialog, a Russian non-profit organisation created by the Moscow Department of Information and Technology and closely linked to the presidential administration; the Institute of the Russian Diaspora, and Social Design Agency and Structura National Technologies, two Russian IT companies involved in the Russian-led digital disinformation campaign 'RRN’ (Recent Reliable News), and prominent representatives of the above-mentioned entities, the Council said.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
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Source: PAP, consilium.europa.eu
