Russia advises against travel to UK because of 'unfriendly' visa stance

Tensions between Moscow and London have ratcheted up in recent weeks, with Britain announcing fresh sanctions on Putin's financial network on Friday over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Russia said on Friday it was recommending that its citizens not travel to Britain, complaining that authorities there were making it "virtually impossible" for Russians to obtain visas.

The Russian Foreign Ministry alleged Russian applications were being delayed because Britain was giving higher priority to Ukrainian refugees. It said Russians were also unable to pay on the British website via Mastercard and Visa, which have both suspended their operations in Russia.

"Taking into account the extremely unfriendly course of the UK towards our country, in order to avoid financial losses and other possible problems, we recommend that Russian citizens refrain, if possible,