Sanctions are pointless if they are not enforced
When the EU announces sanctions, we should ask a simple question: what will actually change?
An investigation by iStories and CORRECTIV shows why this matters. Two employees of the Russian propaganda outlet Izvestia, Vitaly Chashchukhin and Igor Dolmatov, have been living and working in Germany for years. They also worked for the pro-war Russian channel Rybar.
Czech police questioned them after they travelled to Prague to film an interview. They were ordered to leave Czechia, but the investigation suggests they simply returned to Germany.
Chashchukhin lives in a wealthy Berlin neighbourhood and drives a Porsche. Apparently, life in the supposedly declining West suits him quite well.
The EU imposed broadcasting restrictions on Izvestia in 2024. Yet a television report published on 21 September identifies Chashchukhin as an Izvestia correspondent reporting on Germany. His reports are still reaching viewers.
The rules cover both broadcasting and helping to distribute a banned outlet’s content, including on the internet. Work done inside the EU can also break the rules when the broadcast is shown outside Europe.
The investigation gives the authorities clear reasons to investigate what they are doing, who pays them and where their reports are shown. German authorities should establish whether the rules have been broken and take action if they have. European countries must also share evidence, so that moving across a border does not allow the same activities to continue unchecked.
Investigative journalists have done the work of finding these people and exposing their activities. The authorities now need to follow up.
Sanctions should make it harder for Russia to finance its war and spread its propaganda. Their success depends on whether they actually stop the activities they were introduced to prevent.
Announcing sanctions is only the first step. Governments must make sure they are enforced, otherwise they are just pointless posturing.