#Sanctions Circumvention

Despite bans across Europe, the US, and Canada, Russia’s state-funded network RT is far from gone. The Kremlin’s favorite media weapon has morphed into a hybrid propaganda machine—streaming through smaller platforms, partner outlets, and social media ecosystems that still reach millions. Data reviewed by UNITED24 Media shows how RT adapted its playbook after 2022, turning sanctions into an opportunity to rebrand and retarget new audiences.

A Russian company tied to sanctioned oligarch Oleg Deripaska secretly bought American-made jet engines to study and replicate them for Moscow’s next generation of Shahed-style attack drones—revealing a clear link between US technology and Russia’s evolving drone warfare program.