For Ukraine, for their Freedom and Ours ! - CSO
Fighting Russian War Propaganda and Its Relays in France
Since 2022, Pour l'Ukraine has been engaged on two fronts against Russian war propaganda in France. At the initiative of the Denis Diderot Committee and Reporters Without Borders, and alongside other partner organizations, Pour l'Ukraine is calling on Arcom and satellite operators to ensure that European sanctions against Russian media are effectively enforced—including on interviews with sanctioned figures, such as Sergey Lavrov—with concrete results achieved through coalition efforts. Pour l'Ukraine independently analyzes Russian propaganda as a form of denialism and has highlighted the silence of Xenia Fedorova, former director of RT France, regarding the deportation of Ukrainian children and the crimes of the Russian army, even as she takes her place within the Bolloré media group. Pour l'Ukraine also denounces the use of the Venice Biennale as a vehicle for rehabilitating Moscow's image and underscores the troubling convergence between certain French political discourses and Moscow's narratives.
Understanding the context
War propaganda: legal framework
International law explicitly prohibits war propaganda. Article 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1976), a binding treaty ratified by France, states:
"All propaganda in favor of war is prohibited by law."
Article 20, paragraph 1, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1976
European law in action
Since March 2022, the European Union has adopted successive sanctions against Russian propaganda media outlets—RT, Sputnik, Rossiya 1, NTV, and others—based on Regulation 269/2014, on the grounds that they constitute a threat to “public order and security of the European Union.” These sanctions are immediately applicable: no national transposition is required.
Arcom's role in France
The SREN law, enacted on May 21, 2024, granted Arcom new powers to enforce these sanctions against French satellite and internet operators. However, their implementation remains insufficient.
What " For Ukraine" is specifically asking for
Ukraine and its partner associations make the following requests:
To Arcom
The Regulatory Authority has had the necessary powers and resources since the SREN law of May 2024. Ukraine is asking for:
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to apply without delay the European sanctions against all sanctioned Russian media outlets — not just on a case-by-case basis and under pressure;
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to intervene publicly with the French media and journalists to remind them that interviews with individuals sanctioned under EU Regulation 269/2014 constitute a prohibited provision of economic resources;
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to disseminate and update the complete list of sanctioned personalities to French media and journalists;
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to demand the removal of interviews already broadcast on the websites and social media of the media outlets concerned; to formally request internet service providers — Orange, Free, SFR, Bouygues Telecom — to block access to the websites and streaming services of sanctioned Russian media, in accordance with the obligations arising from EU Regulation 269/2014; and
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to impose financial penalties on broadcasters who fail to comply with these obligations.
To satellite operators
Eutelsat and other European satellite operators must immediately cease broadcasting all sanctioned Russian channels and services, without waiting for a formal notice from national authorities. The European sanctions are effective immediately.
To the French media
The organisation "Pour l'Ukraine" calls on French media, and in particular public service broadcasters, to refuse to interview individuals sanctioned by the European Union and to refrain from providing a platform to Kremlin propagandists. The supposed journalistic neutrality cannot justify circumventing European law or the lack of symmetry between an aggressor and their victim.
To the French government
The group is calling on Ukraine's government to review the administrative status of Xenia Fedorova, former director of RT France—a channel banned as a threat to public order and European security—who has taken up a position within the Bolloré media group (CNews, Fayard, JDNews). An internal memo from the French Foreign Ministry, seen by Le Monde (May 26, 2026), confirms point by point the alignment of her public statements with the Kremlin's official talking points.
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