MOSCOW, April 10. /TASS/. Moscow has blacklisted 22 British government officials, members of the IT sector and legal service market as a measure of retaliation, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"We can see that the British government continues to pursue its anti-Russian policy as London has declared the goal of inflicting a strategic defeat on our country on the battlefield. It is actively using the mechanism of sanctions and conducting a subversive information and propaganda campaign," the statement reads.
"In response to these hostile actions by the United Kingdom, a decision has been made to blacklist a number of British government officials, as well as IT sector and legal service market participants," the Russian Foreign Ministry added.
Those blacklisted particularly include employees of British companies, namely Micro Focus, providing Ukrainian forces with "software and cyber protection services necessary in the process of data collection for strikes on Russian troops and infrastructure." "The activities of such IT companies, which are accomplices of neo-Nazis, lead to the loss of life and can be directed against any country whose authorities may not suit the Anglo-Saxons," the Foreign Ministry said.
The list also includes people involved "in attempts to impose compliance with the West’s illegitimate unilateral sanctions on economic operators in Central Asian countries." "Stubbornly and fruitlessly trying to strangle the Russian economy, the British authorities are also dealing painful blows to the welfare of third countries and inventing repressive mechanisms for their own businesses, which have a pragmatic view of the situation and understand the futility of the collective West’s sanctions policy," the statement adds.
London’s policy bound to fail
The Russian Foreign Ministry reiterated that "London’s policy aimed at providing comprehensive support to Ukrainian neo-Nazis is bound to fail and will only prolong the conflict, leading to more civilian casualties." "The United Kingdom should also realize that it’s counterproductive to continue the policy of sanctions on Russia, which will be met with a harsh rebuff from us," the statement notes.
"Work to expand the Russian blacklist in response to hostile actions by the British authorities will continue," the Foreign Ministry emphasized.