Ukraine has imposed sanctions on the producers and distributors of the Russian animated series "Masha and the Bear," including the studio Animaccord and its founder, scriptwriter, and director. The sanctions were signed into effect by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in August 2026 [1, 2, 3].

The legal measures allow Ukraine to block the cartoon's content within the country and push international platforms to restrict monetization and distribution. Ukrainian Culture Minister Tetyana Berezhna said, "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 monetisation and distribution." She added, "Russian propaganda has no place on children's screens — in Ukraine or anywhere in the world." [1, 2, 3]

The show follows a mischievous girl named Masha and her friendship with a retired circus bear. It launched in 2009 and has become one of Russia's most successful television exports, airing in about 100 countries worldwide [1, 2, 3].

"Masha and the Bear" commands a large global audience online. One source reports over 54 billion combined views on its YouTube channel as of June 2026, while another states more than 37 billion views on YouTube alone. The Ukrainian language YouTube channel alone has roughly 18 million subscribers and received 800 million views in 2025, making it Ukraine's most popular children's channel by August 2025 [1, 2, 3].

The sanctions follow Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which has intensified boycotts of Russian cultural products in the country and among its allies. Ukraine protested Netflix's acquisition of streaming rights for new seasons of "Masha and the Bear" in June 2026 [1, 2, 3].

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the allegations against the cartoon, praising it for promoting "the finest human qualities" and saying the series has "conquered the world." He accused Ukraine of waging "war on cartoons," reflecting negatively on Ukrainian authorities [1, 2, 3].

Ukrainian authorities now seek international cooperation to enforce the sanctions and limit the cartoon's presence on global platforms.