EU member states imposed sanctions on the pro-Kremlin website Voice of Europe (VoE) and three Russian media outlets on Friday to ban them from publishing or broadcasting in the European Union.
VoE has been targeted for alleged involvement in distributing pro-Russia propaganda, as have Russian state news agency RIA Novosti and newspapers Izvestia and Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
All media outlets are prohibited from distributing their content across the EU over their support for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
However, the punitive measures do not prevent staff from the outlets from carrying out their work like interviews and research, an EU statement said.
European Commission Vice President Věra Jourová in an earlier announcement described the media outlets as "Kremlin-linked propaganda networks."
The move expands Czech sanctions initially put in place on VoE after an investigation by the country's intelligence services. Czech intelligence said the online news site was part of a Russian influence operation to undermine Ukrainian sovereignty
Czech newspaper Denník N, citing intelligence sources, has also reported that far-right politician Petr Bystron, an Alternative for Germany (AfD) member of the German parliament, was suspected of having contact with VoE and may have accepted money from them.
German prosecutors have now launched an investigation into Bystron, who is a candidate for his party in the upcoming European elections after his immunity was waived by Germany's parliament.
Another leading AfD politician, Maximilian Krah, has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks for alleged links to pro-Russian networks.
Meanwhile, his former assistant has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China. Krah is the AfD's top candidate for the European elections.
Concerns about Russian influence operations extend beyond Ukraine to the EU institutions themselves.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo announced in April that intelligence services in his country uncovered a Russian operation to influence the European Parliament election.
The Belgian prime minister said his country's intelligence services confirmed the existence of pro-Russian influence networks in Belgium and "several European countries."
De Croo said this confirmation follows media reporting of a Czech investigation into a pro-Russian influence operation in the EU to approach and pay EU lawmakers to promote a Russian agenda.
The EU has targeted Russian media with punitive measures before.
In March 2022, one month after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU imposed sanctions on Kremlin broadcasters Russia Today and Sputnik, banning the transmission of both throughout the bloc.
The ban will remain in place "until the aggression to Ukraine is put to an end, and until the Russian Federation and its associated outlets cease to conduct disinformation and information manipulation actions against the EU and its member states," an EU statement said at the time.
Another round of sanctions banned three more Russian broadcasters the following June: Rossiya RTR/RTR Planeta, Rossiya 24/Russia 24, and TV Centre International.
Also on Friday, new EU regulations criminalizing the violation of sanctions entered into legal force. Breaches of travel bans and failure to freeze assets in the EU are to be criminal offences.
