Canada announced new sanctions on Monday against 34 Russian journalists, actors and television presenters, as well as state-owned national TV Zvezda, calling them “propaganda agents” for their government.
The list includes Vladimir Mashkov, best known in the West for his work in the films “Behind Enemy Lines” and “Mission Impossible,” Pavel Gusev, editor-in-chief of the Moscow daily Moskovskij Komsomolets, and Kirill Kleimyonov, head of the news division at Russia’s state-owned Channel One.
Ottawa accuses them of “spreading false narratives that serve as pretexts for the Russian regime’s unjustifiable war” in Ukraine, according to a statement.
“The Russian regime’s war depends on lies and deception,” Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said. “It muzzles and imprisons its own citizens who dare speak the truth.”
“We see through the lies,” she added.
The latest announcement brings to more than 1,400 the total number of individuals and entities in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus that Canada has sanctioned since Moscow’s massive offensive began on February 24.
