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For Ukraine watchers, this is an intriguing development: President Zelensky has imposed sanctions on MP Taras Kozak, a proxy of Putin ally Viktor Medvedchuk, and his TV channels, NewsOne, Zik, 112, which are notorious pushers of Russian disinformation. https://www.president.gov.ua/documents/432021-36441?fbclid=IwAR1oRmq-Ug4T9RnUiuR0WQo4588UYYHSU_1yH03BndOC2qUWck6qaYbqwLE
The move was signed by Zelensky after approval from National Security and Defense Council. Kozak faces a slew of restrictions and bans now, including asset freezes. His TV channels—which really are controlled by Medvedchuk, who is Putin's lackey in Kyiv—are already off the air.
Many Ukrainian progressives, political analysts, and even journalists have long supported measures like those imposed today against what are essentially Kremlin disinfo networks in Ukraine. Poroshenko blocked Russian social networks and other sites.
NewsOne, Zik, and 112 were also places where Ukraine's far-right Azov got airtime. The Ukrainian operatives working with Rudy Giuliani to help Trump and who were sanctioned by the US were also frequent guests. Andriy Derkach's press conferences were aired by all three.
Here's a collage courtesy of @ColborneMichael showing Ukrainian neo-nazis and violent far-right figures, including those from Azov, promoting their appearances on the channels. https://twitter.com/ColborneMichael/status/1356720648081596427
Since Kozak and Medvedchuk took over the channels, there has been little if anything aired on them that resembles journalism. And yet, the move is a controversial one, as @schfm explains here: https://twitter.com/schfm/status/1356710726149300230
The timing's interesting. One reason I think Zelensky's doing this now is because he has a window of opportunity to crack down on actors who're working against him and who also happen to be tied to those sanctioned by the US. Hard to see Washington objecting strongly to the move.
The other, pointed out below, is Putin has his hands full at the moment. https://twitter.com/Mortis_Banned/status/1356715929527287809
