PM, foreign sec and 11 other MPs barred by Kremlin in retaliation for sanctions
The Kremlin has banned Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Ben Wallace and 10 other UK politicians from entering Russia.
The Russian foreign ministry said the action was taken “in view of the unprecedented hostile action by the British government, in particular the imposition of sanctions against senior Russian officials”.
The list will be expanded soon, according to a spokesman.
Ukrainian PM ‘to visit Washington’ – follow latest updates on the Ukraine war
At present also includes ministers Dominic Raab, Grant Shapps, Priti Patel, Rishi Sunak, Kwasi Kwarteng, Nadine Dorries, James Heappey, Suella Braverman, former PM Theresa May and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
The UK has sanctioned more than 1,000 Russian individuals and organisations in response to the war in Ukraine.
Key developments:
- Explosions heard in Kyiv and Lviv overnight
- Two dead and four injured in attack in Luhansk, eastern Ukraine
- Ukrainian PM to visit Washington next week for IMF and World Bank meetings – US media
- Russia warns west of ‘unpredictable consequences’
- 900 people killed in Kyiv region – police chief
- Germany pledges €1bn in military support for Ukraine
New bombardments in Kyiv, Lviv, Luhansk and Kherson
The travel ban came after explosions were heard in the capital Kyiv and western city of Lviv overnight.
Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, said rescuers and medics were at the scene of an explosion in the southeastern Darnytskyi district that killed one and injured several others.
Two people were killed and four injured in strikes on the eastern region of Luhansk, governor Serhiy Gaidai said in a Telegram post.
The cities of Kharkiv, Kherson and Ivano-Frankivsk have also come under renewed bombardment after Russia’s biggest Black Sea warship sank on Thursday.
Kyiv says the Moskva missile cruiser was hit by Ukrainian missiles, a claim that is backed by the United States, but the Russian version of events is that it sank after ammunition caught fire.
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After the warship sank off Odesa, Moscow said it would increase attacks on Kyiv in response to supposed Ukrainian military “diversions” on its territory.
Read more:
Sinking of Black Sea flagship is huge embarrassment for Putin – analysis
The symbolic blow for Russia was praised by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however, who said his armed forces are “doing brilliantly”.
“The success of our military on the battlefield is really significant,” he added in a presidential address, claiming they are helping ensure the “restoration of peace”.
900 bodies found in Kyiv region
There had been some signs of pre-war life in the Ukrainian capital – before the new strikes – after the Russian troops left the north to concentrate on the south and the east.
But the casualties in the Kyiv region are mounting.
Its police chief said 900 civilians had been discovered dead since the Russian withdrawal – more than 350 of them in Bucha, where the Kremlin is accused of war crimes.
Nine new humanitarian corridors have been arranged for the devastated southern city of Mariupol and eastern region of Luhansk on Saturday.
On Friday a total of 2,864 were able to leave conflict zones, including 363 people from Mariupol, Ukrainian officials said.
