Russia has sanctioned dozens of UK journalists who they claim have contributed to the "deliberate dissemination of false and one-sided information” amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
A statement published by its Ministry of Foreign Affairs said 29 media figures, alongside another 20 figures who Moscow claim are linked to the defence industry, are banned from entering the country.
Among those on the list are BBC director-general Tim Davie, The Times’ editor John Witherow, The Guardian’s editor-in-chief Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief of the Daily Telegraph Chris Evans, and BBC chairman Richard Sharp.
A number of journalists who have reported from the ground in Ukraine have also been added to the list in the latest statement, including BBC journalists Nick Robinson, Orla Guerin and Clive Myrie.
Russia said the journalists and media representatives named had contributed towards “fuelling Russophobia in British society”.
It said those figures on the list who are connected to the UK defence industry had been involved in making decisions “on the supply of weapons to Ukraine, which are used by local punishers and Nazi formations to kill civilians and destroy civilian infrastructure”.
They included Britain’s navy chief and senior executives at defence and aerospace firms Thales UK and BAE Systems.
Moscow has seized on the far-right origins of one of the units in Ukraine, calling the Azov Regiment’s fighters “Nazis” and accusing, without evidence, their commander of committing atrocities during the war.
Last month, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss announced that Russian businesses were being cut off from the UK’s accountancy, management consultancy and PR sectors, as part of further sanctions against the country.
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