The Kremlin on Saturday said it had sanctioned the UK's Prime Minister Boris Johnson and 12 other senior British Cabinet members and politicians, barring them from entering Russia.
The retaliatory move was a response to Britain's support of Ukraine and sanctions against Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Johnson's role in coordinating similar efforts among the UK's Western and international allies.
Others on the list are the UK's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Dominic Raab, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Home Secretary Priti Patel, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, Minister for the Armed Forces James Heappey, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, former Prime Minister Theresa May, and Attorney General for England and Wales Suella Braveman.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the sanctions are a response to London's sanctions of top Russian officials in what it said were "unprecedented hostile actions of the British government," and that Russia's "shopping list" of sanctions will be expanded "in the near future" to include British politicians and parliamentarians who vocally condemn Russia and support Ukraine over the war.
The ministry blamed the UK for aiming at "isolating Russia internationally, creating conditions for containing our country and strangling the domestic economy."
It accused the British leadership of “deliberately aggravating the situation" by supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine and "coordinating similar efforts on the part of NATO" and said the UK's role in coordinating Russian sanctions among "not only its Western allies, but also other countries" was "unacceptable."
In an email to The Epoch Times, a government spokesperson said: "The UK and our international partners stand united in condemning the Russian government’s reprehensible actions in Ukraine and calling for the Kremlin to stop the war. We remain resolute in our support for Ukraine."
Since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the UK has sanctioned more than 1,200 individuals and entities close to Russian President Vladimir Putin—including 76 oligarchs and 16 banks with a global net worth of £150 billion ($196 billion) and £500 billion ($653 billion) respectively, according to official figures.
Announcing the latest sanctions against two Russian oligarchs on Thursday, the British Foreign Office said sanctions imposed by the UK and its international partners were "having deep and damaging consequences for Putin’s ability to wage war."
"Analysis shows Russia is heading for the deepest recession since the collapse of the Soviet Union with £275 billion [$359 billion]—60 percent of Russian foreign currency reserves—currently frozen," the statement said.
On Friday evening, the Russian Foreign Ministry declared 18 European Union diplomats "persona non-grata" in retaliation for the bloc’s expulsion of 19 Russian diplomats on April 5 over their "activities contrary to their diplomatic status."
The E.U. said Russia's move had "no grounds and is nothing else than a retaliatory step," and "will further increase its international isolation."
