Switzerland has imposed sanctions against the PMC "Wagner" and the RIA FAN news agency. The restrictions will come into force on April 20 at 18:00.
This was reported by the Swiss government.
The owner of both organizations is considered to be "Putinʼs cook" Yevhen Pryhozhyn. RIA FAN engages in Russian propaganda, supports the actions of the Kremlin and spreads disinformation about the war in Ukraine.
Thus, Switzerland joined the restrictions introduced by the European Union.
On April 10, 2023, the EU introduced a ban on the broadcasting and advertising of the Russian propaganda TV channels RT Arabic and Sputnik Arabic. The Federal Council of Switzerland believes that it would be more effective to fight disinformation than to ban TV channels. Therefore, they will not be blocked in Switzerland, but advertising will be banned there.
- In February of this year, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine recognized the PMC "Wagner" and all other Russian private military companies as terrorist organizations.
- Prior to that, the US Treasury Department recognized the PMC "Wagner" as a transnational criminal organization and imposed sanctions on it.