Sky News host Andrew Bolt and mining magnate Gina Rinehart are among 121 prominent Australians who have been blacklisted indefinitely by Russia.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs released on Thursday a list of academics, business leaders and journalists who have been banned from entering the country.
Names include ABC chair Ita Buttrose, News Corp co-chair Lachlan Murdoch, South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas and Defence Force chief General Angus Campbell.
The list comes as tensions continue to rise between the two countries with prime minister Anthony Albanese invited by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy to visit Kyiv.
Sky News host Andrew Bolt (pictured) and mining magnate Gina Rinehart are among 121 prominent Australians who have been blacklisted indefinitely by Russia
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs released on Thursday a list of academics, business leaders (pictured, mining magnate Gina Rinehart) and journalists who have been banned from entering the country
Media personalities Stan Grant and Liz Hayes were included in the blacklist as well as Atlassian co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar, mining magnate Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest as well as Nine Entertainment Group chair Peter Costello and Meriton apartment developer Harry Triguboff.
Russia’s foreign ministry accused the blacklisted people of promoting a ‘Russophobic’ agenda and have indefinitely barred them from travelling to Russia.
The 121 names adds to the 228 Australians who were barred from entering the country in eastern Europe in April.
The move comes after Australia imposed sanctions against Russian individuals in response to the invasion in the Ukraine that began on February 24.
The country sanctioned in May more than 70 Russian politicians and more than 30 local officials in the eastern Ukrainian separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
‘Taking into account the fact that the official Canberra does not intend to abandon the anti-Russian course and continues to produce new sanctions, work on updating the Russian ‘stop list’ will continue,’ Russia’s foreign ministry said.
La Trobe University Russian politics expert Dr Robert Horvath slammed the ‘Russophobic’ claims by Russia as a ‘lie’.
‘I have repeatedly and insistently defended Russian culture against its detractors,’ he wrote on Twitter.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the blacklisted people of promoting a ‘Russophobic’ agenda and have barred them from travelling to Russia indefinitely (pictured, Russian president Vladimir Putin)
The list comes as tensions continue to rise between Australia and Russia with prime minister Anthony Albanese invited by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy to visit Kyiv
‘I have highlighted its most humane voices and the lessons about human rights and freedom that Russian dissidents have taught the West.
‘But in Putin’s twisted, Orwellian world, ‘Russophobia’ means criticising his kleptocracy, repression, and genocidal war.
‘It means drawing attention to brave Russians who oppose him. It means pointing out that there is more to Russian culture than his totalitarian despotism.’
Ukraine president Mr Zelenskyy has invited Mr Albanese to visit his country in a show of solidarity against Russia.
Mr Albanese will be travelling to Europe to attend the annual NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, later this month.
Ukrainian Ambassador Vasyl Myroschnychenko said he would pass on the invitation when he meets with him face to face.
‘I was in Kyiv last week. I picked up a letter from my President to Mr Albanese, congratulating him on his election and inviting him to come to Ukraine,’ Mr Myroschnychenko told The Australian.
Mr Albanese will be travelling to Europe to attend the annual NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, later this month and has been invited by Mr Zelenskyy (left) to visit Kyiv during his trip
‘I would like to have an opportunity to personally deliver it to him next week.’
Mr Albanese has not introduced new sanctions against Russia since he was voted in as the new prime minister on May 21.
He has previously condemned the ‘unilateral, illegal, immoral’ invasion.
‘This is something that Russia must pay a price for its actions. It’s as simple as that,’ he said.
‘These actions are against democratic values, against national sovereignty, against the rule of law, against the very Charter of the United Nations, and they should be condemned unequivocally. And I do so again now.’
Russia describes the incursion of its forces into Ukraine as a ‘special military operation’ to disarm and ‘denazify’ its neighbour.
Ukraine and its allies have rejected this as nonsense.
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