Russia bans PM Boris Johnson from entering the country over UK’s stance on Ukraine war

Boris Johnson and other senior ministers have been banned from entering Russia.

Moscow said the Prime Minister’s ban was due to the UK’s “hostile” stance on the war in Ukraine.

First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon, Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former Prime Minister Theresa May are also among the 13 senior British politicians banned from entering Russia.

The Kremlin said that the decision was made in response to a number of UK sanctions against Russia, following the invasion of Ukraine.

Which UK politicians has the Kremlin banned?

• Boris Johnson – PM
• Liz Truss – foreign secretary
• Ben Wallace – defence secretary
• Rishi Sunak – chancellor
• Dominic Raab – justice secretary
• Grant Shapps – transport secretary
• Priti Patel – home secretary
• Kwasi Kwarteng – business secretary
• Nadine Dorries – culture secretary
• James Heappey – armed forces minister
• Suella Braverman – attorney general
• Theresa May – ex-PM and MP
• Nicola Sturgeon – Scotland first minister

Moscow imposed a similar ban against US President Joe Biden in March.

Russian attacks on Ukraine capital Kyiv

Meanwhile, there have reportedly been fresh strikes on the outskirts of Kyiv as Moscow threatened to launch a renewed offensive against the Ukrainian capital.

Early on Saturday (16 April), Kyiv’s eastern district of Darnytskie was struck, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

He said rescuers and paramedics were on the scene, and warned residents who have fled the capital not to return for their own safety.

Around Kyiv, Andriy Nebytov, the head of the capital’s regional police force, said bodies were abandoned in the streets or given temporary burials. He cited police data indicating 95% died from gunshot wounds.

Russian forces are also preparing for another attack in eastern Ukraine, and fighting also went on in the pummelled southern port city of Mariupol.

Locals in that city reported seeing Russian troops digging up bodies.

In Kharkiv, in the north-east of the country, the shelling of a residential area killed seven people, including a seven-month-old child, and wounded 34, according to regional governor Oleh Sinehubov.

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