EU imposes sanctions on two pro-Russian German bloggers
EU countries on Tuesday imposed sanctions on two pro-Russian German bloggers for the first time, as part of a new package of punitive measures against Russia over its war in Ukraine.
Russian-based bloggers Alina Lipp and Thomas Röper are accused of systematically spreading misinformation about the war in Ukraine and thereby supporting Russia, according to the order.
The EU sanctions include travel restrictions, the freezing of assets and a ban on the provision of funds or other economic resources.
According to EU sources, the two individuals will still be able to enter Germany, but will not be allowed to travel on to other EU countries.
Röper, 53, and Lipp, 31, say that they currently live in Russia. They had regularly attracted attention in the past for spreading false information.
According to the EU, Röper runs a blog called "Anti-Spiegel" - in what appears to be a reference to German news magazine Der Spiegel. Lipp runs a Telegram channel dubbed "Neues aus Russland" (News from Russia).
In an initial public response, they both asked their supporters to refrain from donating to them for the time being "in their own interest."
Lipp wrote on Telegram that she and Röper "are curious to see what consequences the sanctions will have for us."
"It's a good thing we haven't had any property in Germany for a long time," she had written a few days earlier, adding they would return to Germany "if at all, on a tank."
The EU also accuses Lipp of being in contact with Russian forces in eastern Ukraine as a war correspondent and of spreading war propaganda. She regularly appears on programmes broadcast by the Russian military channel Zvezda.
Röper had legitimized Russia's illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories and participated in the campaign for the sham referendums on joining the Russian Federation.
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