MOSCOW, Aug  18, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - Russia announced sanctions Friday on the 
International Criminal Court prosecutor, who is seeking the arrest of President 
Vladimir Putin, as well as British ministers who have fiercely opposed Moscow's 
offensive in Ukraine.

       The foreign ministry denounced the "unwavering military support from 
London" to Kyiv and "the aggressive implementation... of a hostile anti-Russian 
policy", after almost a year and a half of conflict in Ukraine.

       The ICC's Karim Khan, who is British, issued an arrest warrant for Putin in 
March on the accusation of having unlawfully deported Ukrainian children.

       Russia, which is not a member of the ICC, insists the warrant against Putin 
is "void".

       The ICC said in May it was "undeterred" after Russia put prosecutor Khan on 
a wanted list over his issuance of the arrest warrant.

       A total of 54 people have been added to Russia's sanctions list targeting 
British citizens, Russia said.

       They include sports minister Lucy Fraser "who is actively pushing for the 
international sporting isolation of Russia, and the British Deputy Defence 
Minister Annabel Goldie, who is responsible for delivering weapons to Ukraine," 
the statement read.

       Also sanctioned are British journalists from the BBC, the Guardian and the 
Daily Telegraph, accused by Moscow of being "involved" in "disseminating false 
information" about Russia and in "supporting information and propaganda 
activities" by Kyiv. 

       Since the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022, London has 
been one of Kyiv's main financial and military supporters.