On 26 November 2024, Russia’s Foreign Ministry added 30 more British citizens to its list of foreign nationals banned from entering Russia, according to an official publication on the ministry’s website and reports by Russian independent media. Two more journalists were included in the updated list: Tom Ball from The Times and Dan Woodland from The Daily Mail.
Justifying its decision, Russia’s Foreign Ministry claimed that the UK is carrying out “persistent efforts to impose illegitimate unilateral restrictions on [Russia], coupled with a reckless policy of supporting” Ukraine, which would allegedly “further delay the resolution of the Ukraine conflict without any reason”.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry did not provide explanations as to how Ball and Woodland were responsible for the UK’s policy towards Russia.
In a previous round of personal sanctions, Russia banned entry to 24 American journalists, on similar grounds.