Russia blacklists 121 Australians, including journalists, in response to sanctions

Russia announces it is blacklisting 121 Australian citizens, including defense officials and businessmen, as well as reporters and editors from media outlets including The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian.

The blacklist has been put together in response to “the growing sanctions of the Australian government, which apply to an increasing number of Russian citizens,” the Russian foreign ministry says.

The people on the list, including Defence Force Chief General Angus Campbell, AI researcher Toby Walsh and The Australian’s editor-in-chief Christopher Dore, are barred from entering Russia “indefinitely,” the ministry says in a statement.

Russia has accused the sanctioned figures of promoting a “Russophobic agenda” and says the blacklist will be expanded in the future.

In April, Moscow announced entry bans on the leaders of Australia and New Zealand in tit-for-tat measures after Canberra and Wellington imposed sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.