Russia’s Foreign Ministry condemned new EU sanctions and announced that it has significantly expanded an entry ban for European officials in response to the EU’s “illegal and unfriendly” sanctions.

Iran PressEurope: Moscow considers the sanctions of the European Union illegal, undermining the international legal prerogatives of the UN Security Council, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The EU’s 13th round of sanctions, adopted on Wednesday, targets 200 officials and entities mainly from Russia involved in the conflict. Brussels also agreed to ban exports to three Chinese firms and place sanctions on North Korea's Defense Minister.

In response to the 13th package of EU sanctions, Russia has already expanded the blacklist of community citizens who are prohibited from entering the country. According to the Ministry, it included citizens of the community responsible for providing military assistance to Kyiv, as well as individuals involved in the persecution of Russian officials and advocating the confiscation of Russian state assets.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry did not specify the number of EU officials affected by its retaliatory entry ban, nor did it provide their names.

It did say, however, that the ban includes members of the Council of Europe, EU members’ legislative assemblies and participants of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

The second anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on Saturday comes as Ukrainian forces are losing ground and the future of military support from the United States remains in doubt. 219

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