The United Kingdom has added Georgian broadcasters Imedi and PosTV to its sanctions list in the category of organizations spreading Russian disinformation. According to London’s explanation, both channels promote narratives that undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty and suggest that Kyiv and the West are trying to drag Georgia into a “second front” against Russia.
The decision was part of a broad package announced on the fourth anniversary of the war in Ukraine. The list included 240 legal entities from the energy, financial, military supply and Russian “shadow fleet” sectors. Against that backdrop, the inclusion of two Georgian media outlets came as an unexpected and unprecedented step in Tbilisi.
After the sanctions, Imedi reportedly faced immediate practical problems: its accounts became inaccessible in banking apps, and February salaries were handed out in cash. The measures include an asset freeze in the UK and a ban on providing sanctioned companies with financial, technological and trust services.
This is especially sensitive for a media company that depends on bank settlements, foreign-currency transfers, satellite services and licenses for foreign content. Sources cited by the publication say that advertising on Imedi is now highly risky, while purchasing series and television formats may become difficult.
Several weeks before the sanctions were announced, the owners distanced themselves from the assets. Irakli Rukhadze reportedly sold Imedi on February 6, 2026 for 1,000 lari, while Georgian Dream MP Viktor Japaridze stepped away from managing PosTV.
“Sanctions are a very frightening thing... If sanctions begin to be imposed on a mass scale, the banking system will turn against the state,” Rukhadze had said earlier.
The Georgian Dream government condemned London’s move. Parliamentary speaker Shalva Papuashvili portrayed it as an attack on free speech, and Foreign Minister Maka Bochorishvili summoned the British ambassador. The opposition, by contrast, welcomed the decision and said the sanctions strike at a key propaganda tool of the ruling authorities. In its view, Imedi’s future has now become far more difficult, even if the channel does not go off air immediately.