Canada Imposes New Sanctions on Russia, Moscow Vows Retaliation

Canada has imposed new sanctions on 38 individuals and 16 entities from Russia, alleging that they were “complicit in peddling Russian disinformation and propaganda.”

Russia has vowed a quick promise of retaliation. Oleg Stepanov, Russia’s ambassador to Canada, has said that Moscow would react to these Canadian sanctions.

The Foreign Ministry of Canada said in a statement that Canada imposed sanctions on Russian state-owned media group MIA Rossiya Segodnya and Russian singer Nikolai Baskov. The Foreign Ministry further said, “President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine is based on lies and deception.”

Canada is reportedly adopting measures to fight back against Russian disinformation. Canada said it will work with American, British, Ukrainian and other European partners to apply additional pressure on the Russian regime to end the war.

Mélanie Joly, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, reportedly said, “Russian disinformation has resulted in the suffering of millions. Putin is trying to manipulate public opinion.”

Reportedly, Canada has imposed sanctions on almost 4,000 people and entities from and in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus since 2014 Russia’s illegal attempted annexation of Crimea.

Recently, the United States imposed sanctions on the Wagner Group, a Russian private mercenary organisation involved in the war in Ukraine. The US Treasury Department designated the group as a significant transnational criminal organisation. The Treasury Department also announced sanctions on various people and companies tied to Moscow’s defence industrial complex. The US also announced a new military aid package for Ukraine amid the war worth $2.175bn. The EU also pledged to double a military aid programme for Ukraine.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appealed to the EU (European Union) to impose sanctions on Russia’s state-run nuclear monopoly Rosatom. He said that Ukraine would not give up on embattled Bakhmut in the east of the country. Zelenskiy was hosting EU chairman Charles Michel.