MOSCOW, February 3. /TASS/. The decision of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to impose sanctions on opposition TV channels 112 Ukraine, NewsOne and ZIK shows that he has set upon a path of dictatorship and usurpation of power, head of the Political Council of Ukraine’s Opposition Platform - For Life party Viktor Medvedchuk said on Wednesday in an interview with the Rossiya-24 TV channel.

"It seems that Mr. Zelensky has not read neither the laws nor the Constitution. He definitely did not. After the story with the Constitutional Court and with the shutdown of channels today, the man has set upon a path of dictatorship and usurpation of power," he said.

According to Medvedchuk, Zelensky began to realize that the ratings of the Servant of the People party are dropping while there are TV channels showing the truth about what is happening in the country. "So this is why he decided to carry out these extremely criminal actions that violate the Constitution and the current law, acting against logic. I’m not even going to mention freedom of speech," he added.

On Tuesday, Zelensky greenlighted sanctions slapped on three TV channels and their owner, member of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada (parliament) Taras Kozak. These restrictions will be in effect for five years. These measures envisage annulling or suspending licenses as well as banning the use of Ukrainian TV and radio frequencies. Their assets will be blocked, and their economic and financial liabilities will be frozen. The management will not be allowed to transfer financial assets to foreign countries, engage in transactions with securities and open accounts in foreign banks.