The Russian government says it is sanctioning a further 121 Australian citizens, including a state premier, business people, army officials and journalists.
Russia’s foreign ministry on Thursday night said the move to bar entry to the Australians was in response to government sanctions against Russian individuals, put in place following the invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
It accused those on the list of promoting a “Russophobic agenda” in Australia.
Names include ABC chairwoman Ita Buttrose, News Corp co-chairman Lachlan Murdoch, South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas, and Defence Force chief General Angus Campbell, alongside various business people, newspaper editors, academics and think tank heads.
Media personalities Stan Grant, Andrew Bolt and Liz Hayes were included, as well as Atlassian co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar, mining magnates Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest and Gina Rinehart, as well as Nine Entertainment Group chairman Peter Costello, and Meriton apartment developer Harry Triguboff.
Those on the list are barred from entering Russia indefinitely, the foreign ministry said, adding it could expand the blacklist as the Australian government “does not seem inclined to abandon its anti-Russia policy line and continues to produce new sanctions”.
In response, Mr Malinauskas said he would not be bullied by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“While travelling to Russia wasn’t on my bucket list, it appears this decision has been made in response to my government’s strong stance in standing up for Ukraine,” he said.
“Vladimir Putin, I won’t be bullied. The South Australian government won’t be bullied and I will continue to stand up for democracy.”
Action taken by SA in response to the war in Ukraine has included removing state government investments in Russian assets, sending medical equipment to the region and resettling Ukrainian refugees.
While Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will travel to a NATO meeting in Spain at the end of the month, he has remained non-committal about whether he would take up an invitation to visit Kyiv.
Mr Albanese has been invited to visit the Ukrainian capital by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who gave his ambassador to Australia a hand-signed letter to hand over to the prime minister.
“I will take appropriate advice and obviously there are security issues as well in terms of such a visit,” he told reporters on Friday.
“I appreciate the spirit in which it has been offered.”
Mr Albanese reaffirmed his support for Ukraine with the defence of the eastern European nation to feature heavily during NATO talks.
“One of the reasons why Australia has been invited to NATO is that Australia is the largest non-NATO contributor to give support to Ukraine in its defence of its national sovereignty against Russia’s illegal, immoral invasion,” he said.
“We will continue to stand with the people of Ukraine.”
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.
Australia in May sanctioned more than 70 Russian politicians and more than 30 local officials in the eastern Ukrainian separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
