Russia has extended restrictions against the UK in response to London's sanctions in the Alexei Navalny case. This was reported on the website of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to the statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry has informed the British Ambassador, Deborah Bronnert, that Moscow has expanded the list of British citizens who are prohibited from entering the territory of the Russian Federation. “It includes those who are involved in escalating anti-Russian sanctions activity,” the department said.
The new restrictions are a response to London's sanctions against Russian citizens accused of involvement in the Navalny incident. The department stressed that they consider British sanctions unacceptable and unjustified, and the actions of the British authorities – unconstructive and unfriendly.
Alexei Navalny's health deteriorated sharply during the flight from Tomsk to Moscow on August 20, the plane made an emergency landing in Omsk. On August 22, the oppositionist was taken to a Berlin clinic, whose specialists announced the discovery of traces of a substance from the Novichok group in the Russian's body. Russian doctors, who also conducted research, found no poisons. After his recovery, Navalny announced the involvement of the Russian leadership in his poisoning.
On October 15, the European Union imposed sanctions against six Russians and one research institute over the situation with Navalny. In particular, the director of the FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, the head of the Russian president's internal policy department, Andrei Yarin, and others, fell under the sanctions. Following the EU, the UK imposed restrictions. Last week, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that, in response to the sanctions, it will expand the list of representatives of the EU member states that are banned from entering the country.
On December 29, the Kommersant newspaper reported, citing sources in the Foreign Ministry, that Moscow would bar the entry of six British officials associated with the military chemical program and the military laboratory in Porton Down. Among them are two deputy ministers, the head of the secret service and the leadership of the scientific and technical laboratory of the British armed forces.
