Russia announced on Tuesday that it was barring 49 British citizens from entering its territory.including prominent journalists and representatives of the Defense sector, sanctions adopted in connection with the conflict in Ukraine.
The United Kingdom has been one of the strongest supporters of the kyiv authorities, after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine on February 24.
(You may be interested in: Ukraine asks to recognize the attacks by Russian troops as a ‘genocide’)
journalists sanctioned
The sanctions include the directors of the BBC and newspapers such as The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail.
The rest are reporters from the aforementioned media and others such as Sky News, ITV, Channel 4 News, Financial Times or the Sunday Times.
All of them “are no longer authorized to enter the Russian Federation,” according to the statement.
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The reason is the sanctions adopted by London against leading Russian journalists and the heads of corporations and companies in the Russian military industry.
In fact, Russia accuses these British journalists of spreading “false” information and “biased” on Russia and “events in Ukraine and Donbas”.
Contribute to instigating Russophobia in British society
“The British journalists on the list are implicated in the deliberate dissemination of false and sectarian information about Russia,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“With their partial assessments they also contribute to instigating Russophobia in British society,” the official note states.
In August 2021, the Russian authorities had made a similar decision by not renewing the visa of BBC Russia correspondent Sarah Rainsford, in retaliation for alleged mistreatment of the Russian press in the UK.
Defense Sector Sanctions
The list also includes the names of 20 senior officials linked to the defense industry. Included in the list are the British Secretary of State for Defense Acquisitions, Jeremy Quin; the head of the Air Force, Michael Wigston, or the head of joint operations of the British Army, Charles Richard Stickland.
Russia also sanctioned several deputies who are part of arms industry pressure groups and senior officials from companies such as BAE Systemas or Thales UK.
(Keep reading: Ukraine asks the West for more weapons to face war in Severodonetks)
“Persons linked to the British defense are implicated in participating in decisions regarding the delivery of weapons to Ukraine,” the Russian ministry statement explained.
According to the text, these twenty people participated in making decisions about the supply of British weapons to Ukraine. London has so far offered 750 million pounds ($937 million) worth of military aid to Ukraine, including air defense systems, thousands of anti-tank missiles, various types of munitions and hundreds of armored vehicles and military vehicles.
In mid-May, Russia banned British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and 12 other senior officials, including nine members of his cabinet, from entering the country.
(Also: Putin makes his bodyguards store his excrement while he travels)
The British leader, one of the biggest supporters of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, traveled to kyiv on April 9, where he announced a new military aid package.
Recently, Moscow also sanctioned 154 lawmakers from the House of Lords (Upper House) of the British Parliament, including the president, John McFall, in response to the inclusion of almost the entire Russian Senate on a blacklist for the military campaign in Ukraine.
*With information from EFE and AFP
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