Restricting freedom of information online in Ukraine within the Russian-Ukrainian hybrid war

The goal of the article is to examine the Law of Ukraine “On Sanctions” and provide an international law assessment of its application as an instrument for blocking (pro)Russian websites in Ukraine in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian hybrid war. To accomplish the stated goal, two objectives are outlined. Firstly, to investigate the implementation of the Law “On Sanctions” for restricting access to (pro)Russian websites in the Ukrainian segment of the Internet. Secondly, to analyze the Law “On Sanctions” through the prism of three internationally accepted UN- and CoE-based criteria of permissible freedom of information limitations – legality, legitimacy, and necessity. The article found that since 2017, the Law “On Sanctions” has been employed for wholesale blocking of (pro)Russian websites originating from Russia, Crimea, ORDLO, and Ukraine controlled territory. These websites have been blocked either temporarily or permanently by im- posing sanctions on the associated legal and natural persons. Furthermore, it was determined that the wholesale blocking of (pro)Russian websites by applying the Law “On Sanctions” arguably violates the international standards, because only one of the three required criteria of permissible freedom of information limitations has been met. The blocking fulfills the legitimacy criterion, but fails to satisfy the criteria of legality and necessity.