President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky signed a decree extending the ban on access to a number of Russian sites and social networks in the country. The corresponding decree is published on the website of the head of state.
“To enact the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine of May 14, 2020“ On the application, cancellation and amendment of personal special economic and other restrictive measures (sanctions), ”the document says.
We are talking about the ban in Ukraine of Russian social networks and Internet services, in particular, Mail.ru, Yandex, VKontakte, Odnoklassniki and others.
Earlier, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) approved the draft of the relevant decree.
Recall, May 15, 2017 Petro Poroshenko, who was then president of Ukraine, approved the NSDC decision to expand the list of individuals and legal entities from Russia in respect of which sanctions were imposed. In the annexes to the NSDC decision, it was said that a number of Russian sites, Internet services and social networks fell under restrictions, therefore providers are forbidden to provide access to these resources.
In the Russian Foreign Ministry, such actions by the Ukrainian authorities were regarded as a desire to impede Ukrainians' access to alternative sources of information. This was stated by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, during a briefing on May 18, 2017.
“No one hides what it was for (ban. - RT ). This is necessary to block the maximum number of alternative sources of information. Obviously, the course was not even on censorship, but on a direct violation of the obligations assumed to ensure freedom of speech was taken immediately after the unconstitutional coup in 2014. Russia has repeatedly drawn the attention of our partners to this, ”said Zakharova.
The US State Department also drew attention to the actions of the Ukrainian authorities, stressing that Kiev should not undermine such a constitutional principle as freedom of expression.
- A meeting of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine chaired by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky
- © rnbou
Kiev was also opposed by restrictive measures against Russian Internet resources at the United Nations.
“As a basic principle, we support freedom of expression and oppose any efforts and concrete steps towards restricting freedom of expression and freedom of communication,” said Farhan Hack, Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Secretary General, May 19, 2017 during a briefing for journalists.
Thorbjørn Jagland, who was then Secretary General of the Council of Europe, was also concerned about the decision of Kiev. He noted that such measures contradict the understanding of the EU of freedom of expression and the media.
“Far from democratic principles”
Meanwhile, experts and RT sources in Ukrainian political structures, interviewed even before Zelensky signed, indicated that there was no doubt that the Ukrainian leader would not remove restrictions on access to Russian Internet resources. In particular, the interlocutor of RT spoke about this in the office of the president.
“Vladimir Zelensky continues the policy of Petro Poroshenko, he is not ready to take drastic steps. Local elections will be held in Ukraine in the fall, and Zelensky does not want opposition protests and radicals under his office, ”the source said.
A similar opinion is shared by the director of the Institute for Peace Initiatives and Conflictology Denis Denisov.
“Zelensky has been a president for a year, but we see that strategically Ukrainian politics are no different from the policies that were under Poroshenko. The decision of the Ukrainian authorities to extend the ban on Russian Internet resources once again shows the essence of Kiev, which consists in maximizing the rejection of all Russian and Russian, as well as further restricting any relationship between the peoples of Russia and Ukraine, ”the analyst noted.
The West, however, "just closes its eyes" to such actions by the Ukrainian side, Denisov believes.
“After all, no specific actions were taken from Europe and the USA in response to the blocking of Russian sites. They simply got off this topic with on-duty statements, for them the whole story is beyond the plane of human rights and democracy. We are talking about the traditional double-standards policy for Western countries, which is quite widespread there. They will remember about human rights only when it is convenient for them, ”the expert emphasized.
In turn, the RT source in the Batkivshchyna party believes that the Ukrainian authorities are extending the ban on Russian Internet resources because they are “afraid that more and more Ukrainians will start asking uncomfortable questions.”
“The president’s office fears that the head of state will begin to ask very specific questions. For example, what exactly is happening in the Donbass and why, in words, the Ukrainian authorities are preparing to de-escalate the conflict, but in reality nothing happens. All this suggests that Ukraine is far from democratic principles, which the leadership of the country speaks about all the time, ”the deputy said.
- President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky
- Reuters
"Does not take into account realities"
According to analysts, as in 2017, now the Ukrainian authorities are not going to take into account the opinion of Ukrainians and political forces that are against blocking Russian Internet resources.
Recall that at the end of May 2017, deputies of the Verkhovna Rada from the Opposition Bloc faction, as well as other parliamentarians, opposed such measures in Kiev. They appealed to the Constitutional Court with a request to invalidate the ban on access to Russian sites.
In addition, a month after the introduction of restrictions, the petition to Poroshenko to cancel the blocking of VKontakte gained the necessary 25 thousand signatures for its consideration. However, the Ukrainian authorities did not consider it necessary to listen to popular demands.
A year after the introduction of restrictions, three of the Russian Internet resources banned in Ukraine were among the ten most popular domains among residents of the country. This was reported by the Ukrainian News publication, citing data from a study by the Internet association Factum Group. According to its results, the Russian social network VKontakte took the fourth position in the attendance rating, Yandex the eighth, and Odnoklassniki the ninth.
According to a sociological survey conducted by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology in February 2019, every fifth Ukrainian who actively draws information from social networks uses Russian platforms. Moreover, according to the study, 49% of Ukrainians consider the actions of the Ukrainian authorities to block Russian social networks to be erroneous, as many Ukrainians do not approve of the ban on Russian television channels.
In April 2019, on the eve of the second round of the presidential election, Zelensky - then still a candidate - criticized the restrictive measures introduced against Russian social networks, noting that such actions should be taken after first learning the opinion of society.
However, now the Ukrainian authorities did not become interested in the mood of citizens before deciding to extend the relevant restrictions, a RT source in the Voice party notes.
“Everything changed quickly as soon as Zelensky became president. It seems that he intends to abandon his campaign slogans, ”said the deputy.
- Protest rally against the ban on Russian social networks by the government of Ukraine, Kiev, May 19, 2017
- © Valentyn Ogirenko / Reuters
According to Igor Shishkin, deputy chairman of the Interregional Fund for Presidential Programs, a member of the National Strategy Council, Zelensky made campaign promises “in order to be elected, and not to turn them into life”.
“When Zelensky came to power, he did not consistently carry out paragraph by paragraph his campaign slogans. The same applies to his words about the need to learn popular opinion regarding the blocking of Russian sites, ”said the expert.
Meanwhile, Russian social networks and other platforms “are necessary for Ukrainians” to keep in touch, including with their loved ones who live in Russia, Shishkin explained.
“Residents of Ukraine, unlike the Ukrainian authorities, do not consider themselves enemies of the Russians. As we were, we remain one, ”the analyst said.
According to an RT source in the Servant of the People party, Ukrainian consumers like Russian Internet resources and are ready to bypass the Kiev ban in every possible way.
“The decision of the Ukrainian authorities does not take into account the reality of reality, so many residents simply ignore it,” the deputy admitted.