Russia’s foreign ministry has sanctioned an additional 121 Australian citizens, including journalists and defence officials, citing what it calls a “Russophobic agenda” in the country.
Key points:
- Gina Rinehart, Andrew Forrest and Peter Malinauskas have been added to the sanctions list
- Journalists from ABC News, Sydney Morning Herald, Nine and Sky News are among the sanctioned
- Russia announced a similar move against dozens of British journalists earlier this week
Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart, Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes, Andrew Forrest and South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas have been added to the list.
Journalists from ABC News, Sydney Morning Herald, Nine and Sky News, as well as various defence officials, are among the sanctioned individuals.
Australia imposed sanctions on Russian military commanders and close associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin after the invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
Mr Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, and Foreign Ministry director of information Maria Zakharova were among the sanctioned.
Russia announced a similar move against dozens of British journalists on Tuesday, in what Moscow said was a response to Western sanctions and the “spreading of false information about Russia”.
The list includes high-profile journalists, news anchors, editors and senior managers, including the editors-in-chief of the Times, Daily Telegraph, Independent and Guardian newspapers.
Major western countries have announced massive sanctions against the former Soviet republic in recent months over what they say was the invasion of Ukraine.
Moscow says the war is a “special military operation”, claiming its aim is to disarm and “de-Nazify” its neighbour.
Britain’s new wave of sanctions against Russia
Britain sanctioned Russian Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, as part of a new wave of sanctions against Russia over the Ukrainian crisis.
The Foreign Office said it had sanctioned Ms Lvova-Belova for the forced transfer and adoption of Ukrainian children, while Patriarch Kirill was targeted for “his prominent support of Russian military aggression in Ukraine”.
The statement added that four senior military officials from a unit “known to have killed, raped, and tortured civilians” in the Ukrainian town of Bucha were also sanctioned.
The government said the sanctions also targeted Putin’s allies, military commanders and Russian and Myanmar arms dealers.
ABC/Reuters
Posted , updated
Discussion about this post