Canada sanctions Russian entities over disinformation, including TV channel, actors

OTTAWA – Canada is sanctioning 34 individuals and a television network in Russia that the federal government considers “propaganda agents,” Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly announced Monday.

In the latest update to Canada’s sanctions regime, Joly said Ottawa is targeting those responsible for Russian disinformation as the war in Ukraine nears the nine-month mark.

The people on the list have tried to justify Russia’s illegal attempts to annex parts of Ukraine, she said.

The new additions include TV Zvezda, a channel run by Russia’s defence ministry, as well as Pavel Gusev, editor-in-chief of the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper.

Sports reporter Dmitry Guberniev is among those being barred from dealings with Canada. Also sanctioned are Tina Kandelaki, a prominent media persona, and actors Sergei Bezrukov, Vladimir Mashkov and Dmitry Pevtsov.

Joly said the new measures follow a meeting she held with the wife of a prominent Russian opposition politician, Vladimir Kara-Murza, who is currently imprisoned.

Canada is looking to impose sanctions on Russians who have put the lives of Kara-Murza and his family at risk, she said.

“It does have an impact, because the goal of Canada — with this meeting and with these sanctions — is to send a strong message to the world, and bring other countries to the table,” Joly told reporters on Parliament Hill.

“I’m confident we can show leadership again on this issue.”

Sanctions experts say Canada has been behind its peers for years in having enough specialists to enforce existing sanctions.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2022.