Russia announces sanctions on ICC prosecutor, UK Ministers

MOSCOW: Russia on Friday announced fresh sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor — who had sought the arrest of President Vladimir Putin — and UK Ministers who opposed the Russian invasion of Ukraine, state agency TASS reported. Moscow has also expanded its stop list as a retaliatory measure barring 54 UK citizens from entering Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The list now includes Lucy Frazer, UK Secretary of State for digital, culture, media and sport, "who is promoting Russia’s international sports isolation,” as per the Ministry. Other UK nationals on the list include journalists from the BBC, Guardian Media Group, and the Daily Telegraph, as well as Karim Khan, the prosecutor with the International Criminal Court (ICC), involved in issuing an arrest warrant for the Russian leadership, TASS reported.

"In response to London’s aggressive implementation of hostile anti-Russian policy involving the active use of a unilateral sanctions mechanism with regard to our citizens and domestic economic operators, a decision was made to expand Russia’s stop-list by including representatives from the UK’s political circles, power structures, the professional legal community, and press corps (a total of 54 individuals)," the Russian Ministry stated. The Russian diplomatic agency added that any efforts by London to further spin the "anti-Russian sanctions flywheel" will be rebuffed by Moscow. The Russian Foreign Ministry further noted, "under the conditions of London’s unrelenting support for the neo-Nazi Kyiv regime," the stop list also includes the leadership of Prevail Partners, a British private military and intelligence company.

"According to existing data, representatives from this company have repeatedly visited Kiev to coordinate the issues of training sabotage and reconnaissance groups for their subsequent deployment in the combat zone," TASS quoted the Russian foreign policy agency as stating.

The Russian Ministry further emphasized that work on expanding the Russian stop list in response to actions by the UK government will continue.