MOSCOW

The Russian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday blacklisted 313 Canadians, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, its foreign and defense ministers and more than 300 lawmakers in a tit-for-tat move. 

"This step is of a forced nature and was taken in response to the hostile actions of the current Canadian regime, which has been testing our patience for so long, going beyond the bounds of decency,” the ministry said in a statement. "Every Russophobic attack, whether it is attacks on Russian diplomatic missions, the closure of airspace or the actual severance of bilateral economic ties by Ottawa -- to the detriment of Canadian interests -- will inevitably receive a decisive and not necessarily symmetrical rebuff."

Earlier, Canada joined anti-Russian sanctions amid the Russia-Ukraine war that started Feb. 24 and has drawn international condemnation, led to financial restrictions on Moscow and spurred an exodus of global firms from Russia.

At least 596 civilians have been killed and 1,067 injured in Ukraine since the beginning of the war, according to the UN, while noting that conditions on the ground make it difficult to verify the true number.

About 3 million people have also fled to neighboring countries, said the UN refugee agency.