File photo shows the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia in Moscow. (Xinhua/Evgeny Sinitsyn)

Russia sanctions 54 British citizens in tit-for-tat move.

MOSCOW, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Russia has imposed personal sanctions against 54 British citizens, including officials, journalists and law enforcement representatives, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

The decision was taken "in response to London's hostile anti-Russian course," and unilateral sanctions imposed against Russian citizens and economic operators, the ministry said in a statement.

British Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lucy Fraser, and Minister of State at Britain's Defense Ministry Annabel Goldie were among those sanctioned, according to the ministry.

The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan, who is British, was also sanctioned for his involvement "in issuing an arrest warrant against the Russian leadership," the statement said.

Personal sanctions were imposed against the leadership of a private British military company, Prevail Partners, which the Foreign Ministry said was involved in providing Ukrainian special services with intelligence data.

Journalists from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the Guardian Media Group and the Daily Telegraph were included in the sanctions list, for spreading false information, attempting to "suppress and prevent an objective coverage" of the events in Ukraine, and disseminating propaganda, according to the statement. ■