Nicola Sturgeon has been banned from entering Russia after she was sanctioned this morning along with other British politicians as part of a Kremlin “stop list”.
Joining the Scottish First Minister on the list is Boris Johnson alongside Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Ben Wallace, Dominic Raab, Grant Shapps and Priti Patel.
Former Prime Minister Theresa May, who authorised sanctions after the Salisbury poison incident in 2018, was also on the list no longer allowed to enter the Russian Federation, according to Mirror Online.
The politicians have been banned for offering support to Ukraine and their government during the ongoing war.
Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement: “In connection with the unprecedented hostile actions of the British government, expressed, in particular, in the imposition of sanctions against top officials of the Russian Federation, a decision was made to include key members of the British government and a number of political figures in the Russian ‘stop list’.”
It accused the British Government of taking a “Russophobic course” by encouraging other countries to also start “senseless and counterproductive” sanctions against the nation.
The statement added: “In the near future, this list will be expanded to include British politicians and parliamentarians who contribute to whipping up anti-Russian hysteria.”
The UK has imposed sanctions on Russia since February, in the immediate aftermath of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
These have then been ramped up in recent weeks, after the full-scale of Russia’s alleged war crimes were uncovered in Bucha, where hundreds of people were found to have been tortured and executed at close range.
Police have also said the bodies of more than 900 Ukrainian civilians were found in Kyiv since Russia’s withdrawal, with around 95% of them having died from gunshot wounds.
Earlier this month, Britain announced it would end all imports of Russian coal and oil by the end of the year, while gas imports would then be stopped “as soon as possible thereafter”.
Foreign Secretary Truss also confirmed a full asset freeze on Russia’s biggest bank, Sberbank.
Last month the Kremlin singled out Johnson as the “most active” opponent of the war in Ukraine in a threatening message to the UK.
Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, who has himself been sanctioned by the UK, said: “As for Mr Johnson, we see him as the most active participant in the race to be anti-Russian. It will lead to a foreign policy dead end.”
The Prime Minister has denied being anti-Russian, but acknowledged he was “deeply hostile” to the war in Ukraine.
Speaking at a press conference at Nato HQ in Brussels, he said: “I don’t think there is a single person round the table in Nato or the G7 who is against Russians or the Russian people.
“Least of all me. I am probably the only prime minister in UK history to be called Boris.”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said Russia's ultimate objective remains the same despite its shifted "operational focus" to eastern Ukraine.
"It is committed to compelling Ukraine to abandon its Euro-Atlantic orientation and asserting its own regional dominance," it said early on Sunday morning.
Government figures show around 16,400 people had arrived in the UK under Ukraine visa schemes by Monday.
About 13,200 had arrived under the Ukraine family scheme and 3,200 under the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme, provisional data shows.
Some 94,700 applications have been received for both schemes and 56,500 visas had been granted by Thursday, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Home Office said.
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