RUSSIA HAS SAID it is blacklisting 39 British citizens, including Labour Party leader Keir Starmer and former Prime Minister David Cameron.

London has been one of Kyiv’s most vocal supporters after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine on February 24.

Russia’s foreign ministry said the citizens listed, including journalists, “contribute to the hostile course of London aimed at the demonisation of our country and its international isolation”.

“The choice in favour of confrontation is the conscious decision of the British political establishment, which bears all responsibility for the consequences,” the ministry added.

Moscow has banned several dozen British citizens – mostly politicians and journalists – from entering Russia since the start of its invasion of Ukraine.

The new additions include several Labour MPs, Scottish politicians and members of the House of Lords.

Among the media names is the head of the BBC’s newsgathering Jonathan Munro, TV presenter Piers Morgan and BBC News presenter Huw Edwards.

Earlier today the first shipment of Ukrainian grain since the Russian invasion began left the port of Odessa in Ukraine under a landmark deal to lift Moscow’s naval blockade in the Black Sea.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres, who brokered the plan with Turkey, welcomed the announcement. Kyiv said it would bring “relief for the world” if Moscow held up its side of the accord.

The five-month halt of deliveries from Ukraine – one of the world’s biggest grain exporters – has contributed to soaring food prices, hitting the world’s poorest nations especially hard.

© AFP 2022