On July 14, 2014, Russia's Channel 1 news, which broadcasts to more than 150 million audience around the world, aired a report related to the entry of Ukrainian army to Slavyansk. An eyewitness interviewed on the program claimed that a three year old child and his mother were publicly executed by the military on the town's main square. The child was allegedly nailed alive to a pole, while the mother was tied to a tank and pulled through the square.
Subsequent investigation by Russian journalists in Slavyansk established that nothing of the kind took place, The "eyewitness" was in fact an actress and the interview was staged.
Channel one is the main propaganda vehicle of the Putin regime directly responsible for fueling hatred and violence. Mr. Ernst deserves to be on the sanction list.