The European Council has sanctioned two European geopolitical analysts, one French and one Swiss, over their views regarding the war in Ukraine as part of its targeting of Russia’s “destabilising” activities abroad, including the spreading of “pro-Russian propaganda”.
According to the Council, saying things the Kremlin likes can amount to foreign information manipulation and interference.
The decision yesterday expands an existing sanctions regime established on October 8, 2024. That aims to counter actions and policies of the Russian Federation that undermine the European Union’s fundamental values, security, stability, independence and integrity.
French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot claimed the move came at the initiative of France. “Zero impunity for the engineers of chaos“, he told journalists yesterday.
In its explanation, the Council expands on why it targeted said individuals, with some labelled hostile actors, such as Vladislav Borovkov, who is said to be a Russian military intelligence (GRU) officer involved in cyberattacks, and John Mark Dougan, a “disreputable” US ex-marine turned pro-Russian activist.
Others, though, appear to be public intellectuals who shared their insights and analysis. Some of these are connected to the Kremlin, but not at all.
Notable pro-Russians include Jacques Baud and Xavier Moreau.
Moreau, a former French paratrooper officer, Saint-Cyr graduate and long-time Moscow resident (with Russian citizenship since 2013), runs the Stratpol centre for politico-strategic analysis.
He is a vocal supporter of Russia’s actions in Ukraine and a harsh critic of NATO, the EU and western policy.
Baud is a former Swiss army colonel and strategic analyst.
Both men are accused by the Council of acting “as a mouthpiece for pro-Russian propaganda” and pushing “conspiracy theories, for example accusing Ukraine of orchestrating its own invasion in order to join NATO.”
They are “responsible for, implementing or supporting actions or policies attributable to the Government of the Russian Federation which undermine or threaten stability or security in a third country (Ukraine) by engaging in the use of information manipulation and interference.”
Some pro-Baud sources have questioned whether this accurately reflects his words.
He did describe the conflict with Russia as Ukraine’s “entry ticket” to NATO, citing Oleksiy Arestovych, Zelensky’s former adviser. He claimed his country deliberately provoked Russia into military action to trigger sanctions against Moscow and western protection under the NATO umbrella.
In his articles (published on The Postil Magazine among others), books including Operation Z and The Russian Art of War and interviews, Baud frames Russia as reacting to Ukrainian/western provocations rather than initiating an unprovoked aggression.
He criticises NATO expansion and western misinformation but does not claim Ukraine secretly engineered the invasion itself.
Baud’s narrative does align with Russian justifications for the “special military operation”, emphasising NATO threats and Donbas issues, while downplaying or denying direct Russian involvement pre-2022.
Critics often label his views as biased or debunked on specific claims – for example, regarding neo-Nazis in Ukraine.
In Europe today, speaking your mind can carry real consequences.
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The Council said Baud and Moreau are responsible for “implementing or supporting actions or policies attributable to the Government of the Russian Federation, which undermine or threaten stability or security in a third country (Ukraine) by engaging in the use of information manipulation and interference”.
On the free-speech implications of this move, Professor Lorna Woods of the University of Essex, whose research contributed significantly to the UK Online Safety Bill, cautioned in a reaction to Brussels Signal that the legal picture is complex.
While sanctions targeting expression can in principle engage freedom of expression under EU and ECHR law, it is unclear whether the sanctioned individuals themselves benefit from those protections, as none appear to be based in an EU member state. A claim based on EU citizens’ right to receive information is theoretically possible but unlikely to succeed, she said.
Woods noted that the sanctions appear to pursue a legitimate aim, such as protecting democracy and public security, and are likely grounded in law, although proportionality is key.
Courts would have to assess whether sanctions are an effective and proportionate response, or whether freezing all assets imposes an excessive penalty for the conduct alleged. The outcome, she said, would be highly fact-specific.
The Council’s decision has triggered reactions internationally. Pascal Lottaz, associate professor for neutrality studies at the Kyoto university, called the move “insane”.
“After two German nationals in Russia, a Turkish national in Germany, it’s now a Swiss national in an EU country, Jacques Baud. Without trial or hearing. For the ‘crime’ of analysing the Ukraine war independently,” Lottaz said.
“They are going to use this against the entire alternative media space, anyone who’s not in line. They will destroy all freedom of speech for sure,” he warned on X yesterday.
Lottaz added that EU sanctions are not part of the judicial branch but come from the bloc’s executive arm, and that the individuals have not been found guilty by any court.
He quoted Baud who reportedly is assessing the legal implications.
“The fact I never use Russian material for my books, but exclusively Ukrainian and western information and that I consequently refused invitations from Russian media, I am still a ‘Russian propagandist’!” Baud is cited as stating.
MEPs Michael von der Schulenburg and Ruth Firmenich, of The Left group, wrote a statement yesterday saying: “The EU is using the sanctions list as an instrument against critics and is manoeuvring itself further and further into an abyss of lawlessness.
“Without a solid legal basis, European citizens are being sanctioned for ‘disinformation’. At the same time, the illegal conversion of permanently frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank into collateral for loans to Ukraine is to take place this week”, they added.
The MEPs pointed to a legal opinion on sanctions for alleged disinformation they commissioned with Prof Dr Ninon Colneric, a former judge at the European Court of Justice, and Prof Dr. Alina Miron, a professor of international law at the University of Angers, who concluded that the sanctions regime does not comply with EU law in several respects.
Overall, they argued it fails standards of proportionality, legal certainty, lacks legal safeguards, the right to be heard before listing and effective judicial protection, including under international freedom-of-expression norms.
Alfred-Maurice de Zayas, former UN independent expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order, appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, spoke of “civilisational collapse“, as the EU ignored its own rules, international law and numerous treaties.
Brussels Signal reached out to the Council for comment but had not received a reply at the time of writing.
The Council also sanctioned five businessmen linked to major Russian State-owned oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil.
They reportedly provide the Russian Government substantial revenue, while controlling vessels transporting crude oil and petroleum products, originating in Russia or being exported from Russia, concealing the origin of the oil, while shipping it illegally under risky conditions.
The businessmen are subject to an asset freeze and EU citizens and companies cannot offer them funds, while they also are subject to a travel ban.
Some shipping companies in the UAE, Vietnam and Russia were also sanctioned.
EU’s crackdown on X shows desperation not strength, writes Rafael Pinto Borges
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