British Ambassador Summoned to Russian Foreign Ministry Over UK Sanctions Targeting Journalists

On Wednesday, the UK Foreign Office announced sanctions against Russia's state-affiliated broadcasters VGTRK and Channel One, as well as a number of other Russian media and journalists.

UK Ambassador to Russia Deborah Bronnert was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday over London's most recent sanctions, particularly those targeting Russian journalists and state-run media outlets.

"She [Bronnert] was informed of a strong protest in connection with London's adoption of another package of anti-Russian sanctions, which included a number of leading media outlets, including VGTRK," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry also stressed that should London continue with the "destructive" behaviour it currently holds towards Russia, it could lead to "the ultimate destruction of bilateral ties and damage to relations between the peoples of Russia and Great Britain."

The UK sanctions against Russian journalists were announced by the Foreign Office on Wednesday, particularly targeting state-affiliated broadcasters VGTRK and Channel One, along with some other outlets and reporters.

Commenting on the recent sanctions, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Moscow does not rule out responding with similar measures against the British journalists in Russia.

The UK sanctions announced on Wednesday are a part of the West's collective push to condemn Russia for launching a military operation in Ukraine some two months ago. Denouncing the operation as an invasion, dozens of European countries, as well as the United States, imposed a slew of harsh anti-Russian sanctions targeting the country's economy, businesses, media, athletes, culture and many other spheres. Russia, in turn, argued that the goal of the military operation is to "demilitarise and de-Nazify" Ukraine, with President Vladimir Putin denouncing the attempts to isolate Russia from the global economy.