Times journalist Tom Ball and the Daily Mail’s Dan Woodland also found themselves on the list, alongside a string of entrepreneurs.
In a lengthy statement, the Russian foreign ministry said it had been “once again forced to draw attention to the incessant aggressive anti-Russian rhetoric of the British authorities,” as well as to “the illegitimate unilateral restrictions systematically introduced by London against our country.” The ministry also called out the U.K. for its “thoughtless policy” of supporting Ukraine in its “senseless” resistance to Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of the country.
But there was more: “Russophobic policies, which combine attempts to discredit Russia’s actions and isolate it in the international arena, the dissemination of disinformation about our country, including in the context of a special military operation, coupled with military support for the Ukrainian armed forces, bordering on the direct involvement of Great Britain in the conflict with all the accompanying escalation risks, indicate London’s attitude towards further systemic confrontation with respect to Russia.”
The flood of words came after Russia expelled a British diplomat it had accused of espionage Tuesday.
In an accusation branded “baseless” by the British government, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed a senior British diplomat at the Moscow embassy was guilty of “deliberately giving false information in obtaining an entry permit to our country, thereby violating Russian law.”
