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Russia never shuts down opposition media like Ukraine does, says Kremlin spokesman

On Friday, Ukraine’s National Security Council imposed sanctions on the leader of the Opposition Platform For Live party and lawmaker of the Verkhovna Rada Viktor Medvedchuk, his wife Oksana Marchenko, and five Russian nationals

© Vitaliy Nevar/TASS

MOSCOW, February 20. /TASS/. Russia’s authorities never close opposition mass media outlets and never impose sanctions on their own citizens, that is why it is not right to draw any parallels between Moscow’s and Kiev’s policies in these spheres, Russian president’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday.

"As they say, there is a world of difference here," he said, adding that the Kremlin cannot cite any examples of persecution of the opposition in Russia like the ones in Ukraine.

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Freedom of speech? Zelensky explains away shutdown of Ukrainian TV channels

"No one closes mass media outlets in Russia. You can see that opposition mass media continue to operate in Russia and no one closes them overnight. So, it is stupid to draw any parallels," he explained. As an example, he cited the Dozhd television channel that continues to operate in Russia. He also said he hoped this television channel saw repressive tendencies in Ukraine.

Moreover, in his words, "non one in Russia strips its citizens of their entire property and imposes sanctions on people only because they have certain nuances or differences with the government and the president about ways to resolve the most pressing problems of society."

On Friday, Ukraine’s National Security Council imposed sanctions on the leader of the Opposition Platform For Live party and lawmaker of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s national parliament) Viktor Medvedchuk, his wife Oksana Marchenko, and five Russian nationals. In all, the sanctions cover, along with Medvedchuk and Marchenko, six individuals and 19 legal entities. The sanctions target entire property of these people and companies.

In early February, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky imposed sanctions on three Ukrainian television channels and their owner, Taras Kozak, who is a Verkhovna Rada lawmaker with the Opposition Platform For Life.

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