The United Kingdom has sanctioned three Russian PR agencies and three individuals for attempting to destabilize Ukraine and its democracy, the British Foreign Office said in a statement.
They are the Social Design Agency (SDA), which is directly funded by the Russian state and, together with its associated company Structura, has sought to attack the Ukrainian regime and undermine international support for it, and Ano Dialog.
The ministry said that Ano Dialog has also sought to encourage protests in several European states this year.
The individuals in question are Ilya Andreevich Gambashidze, founder of DAS, Nicolai Tupikin, CEO of SDA and owner of Structura, and Andrei Perla, SDA's project director.
The Foreign Office's minister, David Lammy, said that Russian President Vladimir Putin "is so desperate to reduce European support for Ukraine that he is resorting to devious maneuvers".
The text accuses the companies and their management of spreading lies on social media on a large scale.
These tactics are designed to hide the truth about the illegal invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation and conceal its true nature, it adds.
The sanctions generally involve banning those sanctioned from operating in or entering the United Kingdom.
