Netflix has removed the Ukrainian-language version of the Russian animated series Masha and the Bear from its catalog. Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, who chairs the Ukrainian parliament’s freedom of speech committee, announced the move on Facebook.
The lawmaker called the decision only a first step. Enforcing it matters just as much, he said, and Ukraine’s responsible agencies now have to deliver the result.
According to Yurchyshyn, the dub disappeared after Ukraine’s culture minister Tetiana Berezhna met Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos in France. The ministry said Ukraine had asked international streaming platforms to take the Ukrainian adaptation down. Sarandos assured her the version is no longer available in any country where Netflix operates.
Netflix picked up the rights to the show long before that. In June it bought the eighth and ninth seasons of the series. The company also extended its deal for the earlier seasons and the spin-offs.
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Things changed in August, when Ukraine imposed sanctions on the people behind the cartoon. Five Russian nationals and four organizations involved in producing and distributing the show were hit. Ukraine’s presidential office said the series pushes pro-Russian narratives disguised as children’s content, calling it a threat to national security.
YouTube followed by blocking the show’s Russian, Ukrainian and English channels in Ukraine. They were among the sites and channels blocked in Ukraine in August.
Scrutiny of Masha and the Bear grew in August 2025, when Ukrainian media outlet Detector Media found that the show’s Ukrainian-language YouTube channel topped the country’s list of 20 most popular children’s channels. Ukraine’s national police later confirmed the cartoon’s ties to Russia, and the culture ministry backed restrictions on it.
