The parliament of Ukraine has banned music by artists with Russian citizenship from being aired in public in light of the country’s invasion of Ukraine, as per reports.
A measure to that effect was passed by a two-thirds majority in the upper house on Sunday, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak stated on Telegram. The bill states that the “musical product of the aggressor state [could] influence separatist sentiment in the population.”
The text also read that Russian music would make the adoption of a Russian identity more attractive while weakening the Ukrainian state.
It added that exemptions to the legislation apply only to artists who have publicly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) will draw up a special list of exemptions.
In parallel, the import and distribution of books and other printed products from Russia, Belarus and the Russian-occupied territories have been banned. Books from Russia have already been subject to censorship since 2016.