Russia bans UK journalists, defence officials from entering

Russia has banned dozens of British media and defence figures from entering the country, the Russian foreign ministry announced Tuesday.

In an online statement on its website, the ministry described the ban on 29 journalists and commentators as a response to what it alleged was the British media's skewed portrayal of Moscow and its actions in Ukraine.

“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 the Donbas,” it said, referencing Ukraine's industrial east, parts of which have been controlled by pro-Russian separatists since 2014.

The ministry claimed “with their biased assessments, they also contribute to fuelling Russophobia in British society.” Senior editors and correspondents for prominent print and broadcast outlets, such as the BBC and the Times and Guardian newspapers, were featured on the list.

Also included were 20 figures linked to the UK's defence establishment and industry, such as the head of the British navy, a junior defence minister and senior executives at the defence and aerospace firms Thales UK and BAE Systems.