MOSCOW, December 28. /TASS/. In response to the 15th package of EU sanctions, Russia is significantly expanding the list of EU nationals banned from entering the country, including representatives of security agencies and organizations responsible for military aid to Kiev, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"In response to these unfriendly actions, the Russian side significantly expanded the list of representatives of European institutions and EU member countries, who are, in accordance with the Federal Law ‘On the Procedure of Departure from the Russian Federation and Entry into the Russian Federation’ from August 15, 1996 â„– 114-FZ, banned from entering the territory of our country," the statement said. "This affects representatives of law enforcement agencies, government and commercial organizations of EU countries, and citizens of EU member states who are responsible for providing military assistance to Kiev."
The list has been additionally expanded to include employees of European institutions and government agencies of EU countries involved in the prosecution of Russian officials for "illegal arrests and removal of people from Ukrainian territories," those involved in the creation of a "tribunal" against the Russian leadership, those calling for a confiscation of Russian government assets or use of profits from them in the interests of Kiev. It also covers people responsible for imposing sanctions against Russia and trying to undermine Russia's relations with other countries, civil activists and representatives of the academic community who "distinguished" themselves with their rhetoric, as well as lawmakers in EU member states and at the European Parliament who voted in favor of anti-Russian resolutions and bills.
"Any unfriendly actions on the part of the European Union will continue to be met with a timely and proportionate response," the ministry warned. "The new leadership of the European Union continues its aggressive and confrontational policy towards Russia. Unilateral restrictive measures remain a leverage of pressure."
The EU member states approved the 15th sanctions package against Russia on December 16.
"At the same time, the European bureaucracy ignores the fact that such steps, bypassing the UN Security Council, are illegitimate from the point of view of international law. Their only significant result is a further decline in the EU's authority in the eyes of countries of the global majority," the ministry stated.