"I have just signed a decree that empowers the NSDC's decision on sanctions. We are blocking propagandists who work for Russia, individuals who have sided with the enemy, and those who assist Russia in continuing the war," said Zelensky.
He also announced the deprivation of the title "Hero of Ukraine" from a number of Ukrainians.
"The title 'Hero of Ukraine' is deserved only by those who truly dedicate their lives to Ukraine," emphasized the President of Ukraine.
He announced new sanctions "soon."
Zelensky's decree has already been published on the President’s website. The NSDC decision he approved was made on the same day, January 19.
In the list (.docx) of individuals mentioned in the decree, there are 18 people, all citizens of Russia and Ukraine. All of them have been stripped of their state awards from Ukraine.
Those stripped of their awards include:
- Russian conductor and violist Yuri Bashmet (who previously called anti-Russian sanctions "a good doping" for Russia);
- Ukrainian people's deputy and head of the "Platform for Life and Peace" deputy group Yuri Boyko (he is to be deprived of the title "Hero of Ukraine," which he received in 2004);
- Rector of Lomonosov Moscow State University Viktor Sadovnichy (praised the illegitimate president of Russia, Vladimir Putin).
Sanctions were also imposed and awards revoked for the following individuals:
- suspected of treason Ukrainian MP Nestor Shufrych;
- businessman with passports from Russia and Ukraine, Yevgeny Gorokhov;
- former Ukrainian MP Leonid Baisarov;
- former miner, Ukrainian Alexander Odnoralenko;
- former MP from the now-banned Party of Regions in Ukraine, Leonid Litvinov;
- suspected of treason Ukrainian MP Yevgeny Muraev;
- former MP from the now-banned OPZZh Oleg Voloshin;
- former MP from the banned Communist Party in Ukraine, involved in a case concerning attempts to overthrow the government, Petr Simonenko;
- Russian-Ukrainian businessman Konstantin Grigorishin;
- Russian-Ukrainian chess player Sergey Karyakin;
- theatrical figure from the Kherson region, Ruzhena Rubleva, who supported Russian aggression against Ukraine;
- Russian-Ukrainian ballet artist and choreographer Vadim Pisarev;
- Russian poet Ilya Reznik (residing in temporarily occupied Crimea);
- Russian opera singer Vasily Gerello;
- former deputy editor-in-chief of the publication "Strana," Ukrainian citizen Svitlana Kryukova.