U.S. government legal actions targeting a network of Russian influence last week have exposed shortcomings in the country’s laws designed to tackle the malign influence of foreign agents, experts told the Kyiv Independent.
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The U.S. Justice Department indicted Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, two RT employees, on charges of violating foreign agent and money laundering laws for funding a news network out of a Tennessee LLC called Tenet Media. The outlet funded a roster of “independent” U.S. social media figures known for commentary critical of NATO and Western support for Ukraine.
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As with many of the sanctions that the U.S. has put out against Russians over the past two and a half years, they don’t mean much more than an annoyance for the sanctioned.