Ekaterina Andreeva, host of Channel One's Vremya, poses in Soviet-era clothing as part of the program's 50-year anniversary in 2017. Photo: Pervy Kanal (Channel One)
The European Union Council has expanded its sanctions list “in view of Russia’s destabilizing activities” across its 27 member states. The new measures target six Russian citizens from the media and cultural spheres. The regulation took effect on Jan. 29 and provides for asset freezes and a ban on entry into EU countries.
The list includes three leading hosts from state television:
Ekaterina Andreeva, the long-standing face of the Vremya news program on Channel One who anchored a multitude of propagandistic segments both before and after the start of the full-scale war; Maria Sittel, a long-time host of Vesti on Russia-1 who in March 2022 co-hosted a rally with pro-war symbols (such as the letter Z) at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium; and Dmitry Guberniev a popular sports commentator, advisor to the director general of the state-controlled channel Rossiya, and one of Putin’s official campaign representatives in the 2018 election.
The fourth person listed is journalist Pavel Zarubin, author and host of the program “Moscow. Kremlin. Putin.” who since 2018 has regularly accompanied Putin almost everywhere and covered his activities in an unfailingly positive tone. Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has called Zarubin the creator of “his own style in political journalism.”
As revealed in an investigation by the Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF) in April last year, Andreeva holds citizenships of both Montenegro and Honduras, allowing her to travel freely around the world — including across the European Union. Andreeva obtained Montenegrin citizenship in 2011 “for special services to the country.” Two weeks after the release of the investigation, Montenegro's Prime Minister Milojko Spajić launched a broad review of all “honorary” citizenships as part of his country's bid to join the EU by 2028.
The sanctions list also includes actor and rapper Roma Zhigan (Roman Chumakov), twice convicted of robbery and armed assault. Since 2022 Zhigan/Chumakov has actively supported the Russian military, raised money for troops, and visited units on the front line.
Also sanctioned was ballet dancer Sergei Polunin, a native of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson. Polunin was once the youngest principal dancer at London’s Royal Ballet but became known for scandalous behavior: he openly admitted to being addicted to cocaine, posted provocative messages on social media, and had three tattoos of Putin’s portrait stenciled on his chest. Polunin headed the Sevastopol Academy of Choreography in Russian-occupied Crimea and was one of Putin’s campaign representatives in the run-up to the 2024 election. In December 2024, however, Polunin said he was leaving Russia and appeared in Israel with a new tattoo — a Star of David on his face.