of Will Dunbar, an RT correspondent who left after alleging RT was downplaying Russian bombing raids, and denied his claims of censorship. She stated that compared to some other stations, "We are not making a secret out of the fact that we are a Russian station, and, of course, we see the world from a Russian point of view. We are being much more honest in that sense." On 31 December 2013, she was cross-appointed as the editor-in-chief of the new government owned news agency Rossiya Segodnya and serves as editor-in-chief of both organizations concurrently. In May 2016, after she was included in the sanctions list of Ukraine by President Petro Poroshenko, she was denied entry to Ukraine. In April 2022, Simonyan proposed removing the article on the prohibition of censorship from the 1993 Russian Constitution. According to her, freedom of speech will lead to "the collapse" of Russia. She called for emulating the People's Republic of China, which is a "non-free but prosperous country". Racist segment about Barack Obama On 30 November 2020, Simonyan, as editor in chief of RT, defended a TV segment that was roundly criticized as racist, which contained Simonyan's partner, Tigran Keosayan, and an actress in blackface posing as former United States President Barack Obama. In the segment, Keosayan, referring to Obama's book A Promised Land, asks: "Do you consider this book your achievement?", to which the actress in blackface replies: "Of course." Keosayan then asks: "Because none of your relatives have written books?", after which the actress answers: "Because none of my relatives that came before me could write." Keosayan then states "you should have been a rap musician, not the president". Keosayan and Simonyan are co-writers for the show "International Sawmill", in which the segment aired. Simonyan defended the segment by referring to Keosayan's ethnic Armenian background. 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine In December 2021, Simonyan stated in a TV debate that the war in Donbas "is ongoing and if a small war can stop this butchery that's gone on for seven years perhaps it's a way out." In the early weeks of 2022, Simonyan rejected speculation that Russia was preparing for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. However, in mid-February 2022, she stated that "Russia cannot but stop this war. What are we waiting for?" On 23 February 2022, Simonyan was included in the European Union sanctions list for promoting "a positive attitude