The Ukrainian-language channel "Masha and the Bear" has garnered over 800 million views in a year
The Ukrainian-language YouTube channel for the Russian animated series “Masha and the Bear” garnered over 800 million views in 2025. According to Berezhnaya, the channel’s popularity generates revenue for Russian businesses, which pay taxes to the Russian Federation’s budget.
"Sanctions have been imposed against the Russian animated series 'Masha and the Bear.' Russian cultural products are tools of influence and propaganda. Through cartoons and TV series, Russia reaches an audience of millions of our children and earns millions from it,” she wrote on Facebook.
According to Berezhna, the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture, together with the Security Service of Ukraine and the Center for Countering Disinformation, initiated the imposition of sanctions against the producers and distributors of the animated series.
She noted that sanctions have been imposed on four individuals and four legal entities.
“This creates a legal basis for blocking the content in Ukraine and provides grounds for appealing to international platforms, in particular Netflix and YouTube, to cease cooperation with sanctioned individuals and to restrict the monetization and distribution of the content,” Berezhna emphasized.
Berezhna added that in 2025 alone, the Ukrainian-language “Masha and the Bear” YouTube channel garnered over 800 million views. This also represents revenue for a Russian business that pays taxes to the aggressor state’s budget.
As previously reported, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy imposed sanctions against the producer of the animated series “Masha and the Bear” and Yuriy Ivanyushchenko, a former member of parliament from the Party of Regions. The corresponding decrees No. 744 and No. 746 were published on the President’s website on Thursday. As noted by the Office of the President, this series spreads pro-Russian narratives disguised as children’s content and poses a threat to Ukraine’s national security.
Effective immediately, the studio “Animaccord”—the creator of this animated series—along with its founder, CEO, screenwriter, director, producer, and co-author of the series, are subject to sanctions.
This was announced by Tetyana Berezhna, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy and Minister of Culture.
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