Russia imposes personal sanctions against UK's media representatives, defence figures

Russia has imposed personal sanctions against 29 media representatives and 20 defence figures of the UK in a retaliatory move, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said.

The media representatives, including journalists working for The Guardian, BBC, and others, and the defence figures, including British Minister for Defence Procurement Jeremy Quin, would be denied entry into Russia.

According to the ministry, the move is a response to personal sanctions introduced by the UK government against leading Russian journalists and heads of Russian defence companies.

"The British journalists included in the list are involved in the deliberate dissemination of false and one-sided information about Russia and events in Ukraine and Donbass," the ministry said, adding that with their biased assessments, they also contribute to fueling Russophobia in British society.

The 20 individuals "linked to the UK defence industry were 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," the ministry said.