Why is Ukraine banning ‘Masha and the Bear’?

Ukraine, in the midst of conflict with Russia, has announced to impose sanctions on cartoon Masha and the Bear.

Ukrainian Culture Minister, Tetyana Berezhna, said on X on Friday, “Ukraine has imposed sanctions against the producers and distributors of the Russian animated series ‘Masha and the Bear’.”

"This creates legal grounds to block the content in Ukraine and engage international platforms to restrict its monetization and distribution,” Berezhna said.

Citing the reasons, Kyive blamed the producers of children’s cartoons for propagating “pro-Russian narratives” thereby threatening Ukraine national security.

On Thursday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy also signed the decrees, imposing sanctions against distributors and creators of the animated series along with its studio, Animaccord.

Besides Kyiv, the show also faced mounting criticism from countries like Estonia and the UK, the allies of Ukraine, on the grounds of portraying Russia positively and showing Soviet symbols in the show.

"Russian propaganda has no place on children's screens — in Ukraine or anywhere in the world," she added.

The production company previously denied all these allegations related to Russian propaganda and called them false and defamatory. It further clarified about receiving no funding for Moscow and works independently.

In response to these sanctions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, "The fact that Ukraine has launched a war against cartoons, too, likely serves as yet another illustration of the ugly nature of the authorities in Kyiv.”

Masha and the Bear series on YouTube alone has viewership of more than 37 billion times and it is broadcasted in about 100 countries.