Australia and Japan imposes new sanctions on Russia and Belarus over the war in Ukraine

Australia and Japan have imposed new sanctions due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, officials from the two countries said.

Australia has blacklisted "Russian propagandists and disseminators."

The list includes 22 people, including Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of Russia's state-run RT, TV presenters Tigran Keosayan and Olga Skabeeva.

In total, Australia has imposed about 500 sanctions against Russia.

In addition, the Australian Foreign Ministry announced new sanctions against Belarus: restrictions were imposed on Aleksandr Lukashenko, his wife Galina, and son Viktor.

"The Belarusian government, led by Lukashenko, continues to provide strategic support to Russia and its armed forces in their attack on Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," said Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne.

Japan has imposed sanctions on 80 companies and 25 individuals, blacklisting a spokesman for Russian President Dmitry Peskov, his wife Tatiana Navka, and their children Elizaveta and Nikolai.

Relatives of the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Nikolai Patrushev and the First Deputy Head of the Administration of the President of Russia Sergei Kiriyenko have also been added to the list.

The list of companies against which sanctions have been imposed includes Miass Car Plant, Vimpel Shipyard, Amur Shipyard, electronics manufacturer Baikal Electronics, Strela production complex, Zvezda Machine-Building Plant, and others.

In total, Japan's blacklist includes 101 names and 130 organizations from Russia.