Former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is at the forefront of hundreds of Aussies banned indefinitely from Russia, accused of promoting the ‘anti-Russian agenda’.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation has released a new list of 235 Australians who have been banned from entering the country ‘in response to the politically motivated sanctions imposed by the Government of Australia on Russian private individuals and legal entities as part of the Russophobic campaign of the collective West. ‘.
Other Victorian politicians on the banned list including former Deputy Prime Minister James Merlino, his successor Ben Carroll, current Treasurer Tim Pallas, Opposition Leader John Pesutto, controversial MP Moira Deeming and Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell.
A number of South Australian MPs have also been excluded.
“It has been decided to indefinitely deny entry to Russia to 235 Australian citizens who are members of municipal councils that actively promote the anti-Russian agenda in their country,” said a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
“Given that official Canberra shows no signs of abandoning its anti-Russian stance and the continued imposition of new sanctions, we will further update the Russia stop list accordingly.”
The new list comes after former Prime Minister Scott Morrison was placed on the ban list in 2022, along with a number of high-profile journalists.