Ukraine’s New Sanctions on Foreign Media ‘Attempt to Demonstrate Strength’
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Ukraine expanded its sanctions list on Wednesday to include around a hundred legal entities and almost 400 individuals. The sanctions prescribed year-long entry bans and asset freezes. The blacklist features 40 bloggers and members of the media from the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Poland, Israel, Latvia, and Russia.
“These sanctions are just an attempt of the Ukrainian government to demonstrate strength,” Dawid Hudziec, a journalist from the Polish news agency Novorossia Today, told Sputnik.
Hudziec, who has been reporting on the conflict in southeastern Ukraine from the embattled city of Donetsk, vowed to carry on his work despite the sanctions. He also said he did not rely on the protection of the Polish authorities.
Several international organizations like Reporters Without Borders and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe condemned the inclusion of journalists in the blacklist.