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Kyiv blocks three TV channels and sanctions an MP
Summary
A look back at the sanctions decree signed by Ukraine's president on 2 February 2021, which targeted a lawmaker and three television channels.
What did Kyiv's decision of 2 February 2021 actually do? On that day, President Volodymyr Zelensky put into effect a decision of the National Security and Defence Council (NSDC) imposing sanctions on Taras Kozak, a member of parliament, and on the television channels 112 Ukraine, NewsOne and ZIK. The channels were blocked.
The measure combined a sanctions decision against an individual lawmaker with a block on three broadcasters, all brought into force by a single presidential act.
A parallel vaccine decision
A few days earlier, on 29 January 2021, the Verkhovna Rada passed a law banning the registration in Ukraine of Sputnik V, the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Russia. The law was adopted during the pandemic, amid the country's debate over which vaccines to approve.
The two decisions were separate, and the reports from the time did not link them. Taken together, they show how much of Ukraine's political agenda in early February 2021 was shaped by decisions made at the level of the presidency, the NSDC and parliament.
