Canada imposes new sanctions on Russians spreading ‘disinformation’

Canada is imposing new sanctions against 34 Russian individuals and one entity who Canadian officials say are 'complicit' in spreading Russian propaganda about the war in Ukraine.

Canada is imposing new sanctions against 34 Russian individuals and one entity who Canadian officials say are “complicit” in spreading Russian “disinformation and propaganda” about the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine.

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says Russian President Vladmir Putin has sought for years to undermine Ukraine’s territorial integrity through state media and proxies that “parrot President Putin’s ahistorical talking points and patently false legal claims.”

Russia has also attempted to obscure facts by severely restricting media freedoms and smothering legitimate political dissent, detaining people who have the courage to speak out against Putin’s domestic repression and military aggression abroad, Joly said in a statement Monday.

Ottawa says the 34 individuals and one entity that Canada is targeting with new sanctions have been helping to assist the Kremlin in spreading false narratives that serve as pretexts for Putin’s war.

Those complicit in the justification of Russian human rights abuses must be held accountable, Joly said.

“The Russian regime’s war depends on lies and deception. It muzzles and imprisons its own citizens who dare speak the truth,” she said in a statement.

“As the number of Russian human rights abuses continues to increase, Canada is taking measures to counter the propaganda that attempts to excuse them. We see through the lies. Canada stands with Ukraine.”

These are just the latest in a number of sanctions imposed by the Canadian government against Russian officials in response to Putin’s attacks and annexation of several regions of Ukraine following Russian-imposed elections that have been denounced as illegitimate by many Western leaders.