MOSCOW, October 29. /TASS/. Russia indefinitely banned entry to nine senior officials from New Zealand’s Defense Ministry and armed forces over their involvement in shaping an anti-Russian agenda, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"In response to politically motivated sanctions against Russian individuals and legal entities by the government of New Zealand, which were imposed as part of the Russophobic campaign of the collective West, entry to the Russian Federation is indefinitely banned to nine additional New Zealanders from the leadership of New Zealand’s Defense Ministry and armed forces, who shape an anti-Russian agenda in that country," the ministry said.

Given that "Wellington does not intend to abandon its anti-Russian policy and continues to introduce new sanction measures, work on updating the Russian stop list will continue," the ministry said.

The blacklist, for example, includes New Zealand’s first deputy defense minister, four deputy defense ministers, representatives of the country's Air Force and Navy commands.