OTTAWA-
Canada has imposed a new round of sanctions on the Russian media machine in an effort to disrupt disinformation campaigns about the war in Ukraine.
It also imposed sanctions on Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyayev, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, who has preached favorably about the dispute, saying it has “metaphysical significance”.
Gundyayev – known as Patriarch Kirill – is a powerful figure in Russia and its diaspora community and is greatly admired by President Vladimir Putin.
The patriarch preached that it is “God’s truth” that the peoples of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia share a common heritage and must be united.
Canada has also targeted Russian news agencies, television stations and journalists. Petr Akopov, who has written approvingly about Putin’s justification for invading Ukraine, and Tigran Keosayan, a pro-Kremlin TV presenter, are on the latest list.
In addition, Ottawa has launched a web page correcting misinformation about the invasion of Ukraine and “counting it with facts”.
Global Affairs Canada said in a statement that the site will be continually updated to “shed light on how the Russian regime is using lies to justify its illegal, unprovoked and unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine.”
Its launch came as Foreign Minister Melanie Joly told a G20 meeting that the world “would not accept Russia’s false narrative”.
In a speech at the foreign ministers’ summit in Bali, Indonesia, also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Joly said it was “shocking” to hear him use “pure propaganda to legitimize the invasion of their sovereign neighbor, killing, raping women and men and torturing its people. »
“We will not let Russia escape blame for this food crisis that it caused,” she added. “Canada clearly rejects Russia’s claim that sanctions are to blame. This is not the case. Fundamentally, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has thrown a wrench in food supply chains world.”
While in Indonesia, Joly held talks with his G7 counterparts on the war in Ukraine, taking the lead in exposing Russian disinformation.
She also had a face-to-face Friday on the sidelines of the G20 with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine and the global food crisis were among the topics discussed
The face-to-face meeting will be seen by some as a thaw in strained diplomatic relations between the two nations, following the release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor from detention in China last year.
Joly also spoke with Wang in April in Germany when the two ministers agreed to keep communication channels open.
Among the 29 people on Canada’s latest sanctions list is also Vladimir Sungorkin, editor of Komsomolskaya Pravda, described by Putin as his favorite newspaper.
Russian broadcaster RT was banned from the Canadian airwaves earlier this year after ministers accused it of spreading Kremlin-inspired propaganda about the invasion of Ukraine.
But the latest round of sanctions hits RT directly as well as Russian broadcasters Sputnik, Channel One Russia and the All-Russian State Broadcasting and Television Corporation (VGTRK), whose chief executive, Oleg Dobrodeev, is also sanctioned.
The long-established Russian news agency TASS is also on the latter list, along with Gazprom Media, which owns a series of television and radio stations.
The new sanctions list also includes Russian author and journalist Yevgeniy Prilepin, TV host and documentary filmmaker Arkady Mamontov as well as Irina Volk, a well-known spokeswoman for the Russian ministry.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, Canada has imposed sanctions on more than 1,150 individuals and organizations in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.
He has coordinated sanctions with European Union allies as well as the United States and the United Kingdom to prevent the Russians from exploiting loopholes.
Global Affairs Canada said the new wave of sanctions against Russia targets “state-sponsored disinformation and propaganda agents.”
In March, Joly joined many others in leaving a United Nations meeting in Geneva when Lavrov, who Canada had sanctioned days earlier, began speaking.
As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced at the G7 summit late last month in Elmau, Germany, Canada has also banned some gold imports from Russia.
This is to prevent the Russians from converting silver into gold to circumvent previous sanctions.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on July 8, 2022.