Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy and Minister of Culture Tetiana Berezhna discussed sanctions against Russian content, support for Ukraine, and prospects for cooperation in film production with Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos.
One of the topics of the meeting was restricting the distribution of the Russian propaganda animated series "Masha and the Bear." In August, the President of Ukraine imposed sanctions against the series' creators, distributor, and rights holder. Ukraine also appealed to international streaming platforms to remove the Ukrainian adaptation of the series.
"Ted Sarandos assured us that the Ukrainian version is unavailable to Netflix users worldwide. It is important to prevent Russian propaganda from continuing to influence children in various countries around the world," Berezhna said on Facebook.
Separately, the parties discussed the potential of Ukraine and Kyiv as a future hub for film production in Central and Eastern Europe. Berezhna said Ukraine has skilled professionals, infrastructure, and the capacity to build a competitive audiovisual industry.
"Ukraine has highly skilled professionals, infrastructure, and the potential to build a competitive audiovisual industry. I suggested that Netflix explore possible avenues for cooperation in this area," the minister said.
