Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
The president activated the decision of the National Security and Defense Council on sanctions against 10 individuals: former press secretary Yulia Mendel and nine Russian citizens, with the justification of countering disinformation and Russian propaganda. Any disputes about such a sanctions mechanism against Ukrainian citizens are based on a legal approach: what is legally possible, appropriate, logical. However, the sanctions mechanism in this war has long since moved from the legal field into the media, and it is here that one should look for logic and usefulness.
The value of Mendel for Russian propaganda has never been in what she specifically says: the same thing is written daily by hundreds of anonymous channels. It matters who says it. A former press secretary, a person who stood near the president and explained to journalists what he meant, works as a stamp of authenticity.
Such a spokesperson is a real find, and of course security services have hunted high-status traitors at all times. During World War II the Germans spoke to Britain with the voice of William Joyce, nicknamed Lord Haw-Haw: a flawless English tone sounded very foreign. Italians transmitted to America speeches by Ezra Pound, one of the most famous American poets of the century. The Germans also had Mildred Gillars, an American whom soldiers nicknamed Axis Sally (Fascist Sally).
States reacted similarly. Joyce was hanged after the war for treason, although he never held British citizenship. Pound was found not criminally responsible and kept in a psychiatric hospital 13 years: the government still did not dare to hang a classic. Everywhere the state fought not with the content of programs, but with the voice. The content was typical propaganda and was worth nothing without a signature; it was refuted in a constant stream of information.
And the main thing here is speed of decisions. An ordinary court lasts long, has several levels, allows for speeches by the prosecution. An order can be written in a day, voted on by the NSDC and already in the evening released into all news. The question of attention is more important than ever — it must be attracted and held.
The sanctions decree does the same as Trump with his $5000 for everyone. It does not solve a legal problem, because it does not aim to do so. It instantly marks a person, forces media to write in the news: "sanctions imposed for treason." Obviously, we lack a swift legal procedure that would be both adversarial and conclude within a reasonable time.
While the choice is between a day-long decree and a five-year process, any government will choose what is more effective. Therefore, for national security it is necessary to choose the media track and be among the first in it.
Source: Artem Bidenko / Facebook
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Мендель – справжня знахідка для спецслужб. І цінність не в тому, що вона каже". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Gordon.