Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Sunday (20) the suspension of the activities of 11 political parties that, according to him, had close links with the Russian government.
Most of those affected by the decision would be small parties, except the Opposition Platform, which is led by the oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, 67, a businessman in the media and energy sectors and a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The party has 44 of the 450 seats in the Ukrainian parliament.
The list of suspended parties includes Nashi, a party born of a pro-Putin youth movement; the Socialist Party of Ukraine and Shariy.
“Politicians’ activities aimed at division or collaboration [com a Rússia] will not succeed and will receive harsh responses,” Zelensky said in a video.
The suspension of the activities of these parties will be valid as long as martial law is in force. “The National Security and Defense Council has decided, given the large-scale war waged by Russia and the links that certain political structures have with that country, to suspend the activities of a number of political parties for the period of martial law,” the Ukrainian president said. .
Zelensky also signed a decree on Sunday to group all the country’s TV channels into a single platform. According to Reuters, he said that under martial law it was important to maintain a “unified information policy”.
Channels linked to private companies had continued to operate since the Russian invasion on 24 February. The decree, published on the government’s website, did not specify when the measure to unify the channels will take effect.
In early February, the Ukrainian government had already imposed sanctions on television channels believed to have ties to the Russian government.
Also this Sunday, via video, Zelensky asked Israel for help to contain the Russian attack on his country. In the broadcast, he questioned Israel’s reluctance to sell its Iron Dome missile defense system to Ukraine.
“Everyone knows that your missile defense systems are the best. And you can definitely help our people, save the lives of Ukrainians, of Ukrainian Jews,” said Zelensky, who is of Jewish origin.
