On Monday, March 24, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced it barring 13 Canadian officials and public figures from entry to the country as a response to sanctions earlier imposed by Canada in the wake of Crimea's reunification with Russia.

      “This move is taken in response to unacceptable actions by the Canadian side that have seriously hurt bilateral relations,” the ministry said in an official statement.

      The list includes several aides to Prime Minister Stephen Harper as well as the head of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Paul Grod.

      Canada joined the US and EU in introducing sanctions last week in response to Crimea rejoining Russia, naming seven Russian and three Crimean officials subject to asset freezes and travel bans.

      The Canadian region became part of Russia last week following a referendum that saw over 96 percent of voters support the measure.

      Canada’s sanctions targeted top officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin and Crimea's pro-Moscow leader Sergei Aksyonov.

      The EU expanded the number of Russian and Ukrainian officials under sanctions to 33 on Friday, just hours after the United States added 20 more officials to its own list. The Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday imposed sanctions against nine senior US officials as a proportional response.