The broadcast of the adventures of the two characters, which have accumulated hundreds of millions of views worldwide, will now be ‘blocked in Ukraine’.
The mischievous adventures of the little Russian girl and the clumsy bear are over. Ukraine has announced sanctions aimed at limiting the distribution of the famous Russian animated series ‘Masha and the Bear’, which is accused of spreading Russian propaganda to the youngest viewers. Kyiv believes it serves as a tool of cultural soft power for Moscow and contributes to projecting a positive image of the country, as the brown bear is a symbol often used to represent Russia. The series, launched in 2009 by the Russian studio Animaccord, is also broadcast by television channels around the world as well as on YouTube, where its Ukrainian-language channel has more than 18 million subscribers and has accumulated hundreds of millions of views.
The sanctions are directed against ‘the producers and distributors of the Russian animated series,’ stated Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Economy Tetiana Berezhna on Friday. ‘Russian propaganda has no place on children’s screens, neither in Ukraine nor anywhere else in the world.’ According to her, these measures create ‘a legal basis to block this content in Ukraine’ and to request that ‘international platforms restrict its monetization and distribution.’
The sanctions taken by Ukraine specifically target the Russian creators of the series and their studio, according to the decree published Thursday evening by the Ukrainian presidency. The series ‘conveys pro-Russian narratives disguised as children’s content’ and generates tax revenue for the country, according to the document. At the end of June, Ukraine protested against Netflix’s purchase of the rights to two new seasons and the extension of its license for this animated series, whose Russian name translates to ‘Masha and the Bear’.
Captured & Published at: 2026-08-22 06:38:34 (Madagascar Local Time EAT)
Original Source: https://www.lexpress.mg/2026/08/blame-le-dessin-anime-masha-et-michka.html