The National Security and Defense Council on Aug. 20 imposed sanctions against several high-profile pro-Kremlin players in Ukraine’s politics and media.
The official reason is their involvement in the “information war and anti-Ukrainian propaganda” confirmed by the Security Service of Ukraine.
The council sanctioned:
- Andriy Derkach, a pro-Kremlin lawmaker. In September, the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on Derkach and said he “has been an active Russian agent for over a decade.”
- Anatoliy Shariy and Olga Shariy, controversial bloggers and politicians. The couple runs a popular video blog and news website, where they often spread disinformation and Kremlin’s narratives, as well as criticize President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Ukrainian government. Their political party, the Shariy Party, has several dozen representatives in city councils around the country and got 2.2% at the 2019 presidential elections.
- Ihor Huzhva, publisher and chief editor of Strana.ua, a popular new site widely seen as pushing pro-Kremlin agenda; Huzhva has been reportedly living in Vienna since 2017, when he fled Ukraine facing extortion charges.
- Denis Pushilin, one of the Kremlin-backed leaders of the militants occupying parts of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts.
- More unidentified people who were previously sanctioned by the U.S. “There are only two or three (Ukrainians) who are under U.S. sanctions and aren’t sanctioned in Ukraine,” said Oleksiy Danylov, secretary of the Security Council, at the briefing following the Council meeting on Aug. 20.
- 12 unnamed media companies, including TV channels, from Russia-occupied Crimea.
The Security and Defense Council also imposed sanctions on some closely affiliated persons and companies of the targeted individuals.
Apart from sanctioning individuals, the Security Council ordered the nationalization of two enterprises that had been privatized illegally, according to the Council: CherkasyAzot, a fertilizer producer, and CherkasyGaz, a gas distribution company. Both are located in Cherkasy, a regional capital 190 kilometers south of Kyiv.
Azot is a part of Group DF, the holding company of Dmytro Firtash, an oligarch in exile. He had been targeted by the Security Council before. CherkasyGaz, according to Ukrainian media reports, also belongs to Firtash.
Huzhva and Shariys condemned the sanctions against them. Derkach is yet to comment.
Strana.ua news website will be blocked soon, Huzhva said.
“The sanctions against us are a lawless decision,” Huzhva said in a statement published by Strana.ua. “As a result, soon they will try to block our website. But we will continue our work. Soon we will let you know, how.”
Anatoliy Shariy, for whom the sanctions arrived on his birthday, accused Zelensky of doing it as revenge for his critical comments, and threatened to target the president’s family — presumably, by publishing something about them.
“So I received birthday wishes from the supreme leader, Zelensky,” Shariy said. “I was sanctioned by the Security Council, sanctions were also introduced against my family. Oh well, now we’ll go after your family, get ready.”
