Ukraine has sanctioned Russian hit children’s cartoon “Masha and the Bear” and its producers in a step towards banning the series, Kyiv’s culture minister said Friday, slamming it as a Russian “propaganda” tool. The cartoon about a mischievous little girl and a retired circus bear is a cult classic in Russia.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. It has been viewed tens of billions of times on YouTube alone, broadcast in some 100 countries, and has inspired several spin-offs. But it has also faced criticism in Ukraine and its allies -- including the United Kingdom and Estonia -- as painting Russia in a positive light and an instrument of Moscow’s soft power. “Ukraine has imposed sanctions against the producers and distributors of the Russian animated series ‘Masha and the Bear’,” Ukrainian Culture Minister Tetyana Berezhna said on X. “This creates legal grounds to block the content in Ukraine and engage international platforms to restrict its monetization and distribution,” she said, adding that “Russian propaganda has no place on children’s screens.” The Kremlin has laughed off the allegations. Asked about the sanctions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the cartoon series has “conquered the world” by promoting “the finest human qualities”. “The fact that Ukraine has launched a war against cartoons, too, likely serves as yet another illustration of the ugly nature” of the Ukrainian authorities, Peskov told reporters.