UK has imposed restrictions on Russian ‘propagandists and state media’

New penalties were issued by the United Kingdom on Thursday on Russian “propagandists,” including a well-known television presenter, as well as two Kremlin-funded media outlets accused of spreading “lies and deception” regarding the invasion of Ukraine.

Following multiple earlier rounds of sanctions against over 1,000 Russian and Belarusian people and businesses in response to Moscow’s war in its western neighbour, the 14 new measures were imposed.

In a statement, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said, “Britain has helped lead the world in exposing Kremlin misinformation, and this latest package of penalties strikes the shameless propagandists who put out (Vladimir) Putin’s bogus news and narratives.”

“We will continue to impose further sanctions to increase the pressure on Russia and assure Putin’s defeat in Ukraine.” “Nothing is off the table, and no one is off the table.”

“Countries may adjust to sanctions over time, so it’s appropriate that we continue to move forward on this,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson told reporters separately.

“It is also appropriate to impose punishment on those who want to misinform the public on a large scale.”

Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, the commander of Russia’s National Defense Control Centre, has been dubbed “the butcher of Mariupol” by the UK foreign ministry due to Russia’s activities in the besieged Ukrainian city.

“On the surface, there appears to be evidence of war crimes” at Mariupol, according to Johnson’s spokeswoman.

TV-Novosti, which owns the worldwide television programme RT (formerly Russia Today), and Rossiya Segodnya, which oversees the news outlet Sputnik, were both sanctioned.

The UK broadcasting regulator, Ofcom, cancelled RT’s licence with immediate effect earlier this month, citing the fact that it was not “fit and suitable” to transmit in the nation.

“We’ll add this insult to the total count,” RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan told the Russian official news outlet RIA Novosti.

Meanwhile, the UK added Sergey Brilyov to its sanctions list, identifying him as a “propagandist for Putin” on Russia’s state-owned media channel Rossiya. Brilyov is a well-known TV presenter in Russia who is recognised for his interviews with high-profile political personalities.

“Having previously resided in the United Kingdom, (he) will be unable to access any of his UK assets or maintain business operations,” the ministry stated.

Alexei Nikolov, the managing director of RT, and Anton Anisimov, the head of Sputnik International Broadcasting, were also targeted.

Meanwhile, the UK added Sergey Brilyov to its sanctions list, identifying him as a “propagandist for Putin” on Russia’s state-owned media channel Rossiya. Brilyov is a well-known TV presenter in Russia who is recognised for his interviews with high-profile political personalities.

“Having previously resided in the United Kingdom, (he) will be unable to access any of his UK assets or maintain business operations,” the ministry stated.

Alexei Nikolov, the managing director of RT, and Anton Anisimov, the head of Sputnik International Broadcasting, were also targeted.