Greece: Thousands of Russians Stranded as Tour Operator Labirint Goes Bust

Thousands of Russian tourists have been left stranded in Greece after tour operator Labirint collapsed in the wake of fresh Western sanctions against Moscow.

As many as 27,000 Russians have been affected in total after Labirint suspended operations, according to the BBC.

Greek media reports estimated that between 8,000 and 10,000 Russians were stuck on Greek islands. The country's Tourism Ministry said, in a statement: "Greece is a safe and welcoming tourist destination that respects its guests."

However, Russia's Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) has threatened to name hotels that had "mishandled" the situation. Some tourists were reportedly evicted from hotels, while others were apparently refused entry after Labirint's bankruptcy was announced. ATOR would be adding hotels to a "blacklist", it said.

Russian tourists are also thought to be stuck in Turkey, Egypt, Spain, Bulgaria and Cyprus.

Labirint announced it was stopping operations on Saturday and that Turpomoshch (Tour Help) would attempt to help passengers that were stuck.

"The negative political and economic situation has influenced the number of bookings," Labirint said, in a statement.

A spokesperson from Russia's Federal Tourism Agency, Irina Shchegolkova, told a Russian radio station this could be the beginning of a long-term decline for Russia's tourist industry.

"We worry this is only the beginning and that there will be a domino effect," she said on Russian radio station Echo of Moscow, as quoted by Sky News.

Russian tour operators have been badly hit by Western sanctions, which have triggered a collapse in the value of the rouble.

Meanwhile, Aeroflot's low-cost carrier Dobrolet has announced it has suspended operations. The fledgling budget airline is partially owned by the state and began operating flights from Russia to Crimea. The EU added the part-state-owned company to a list of companies it had targeted in sanctions announced in late July.

The European Union and the United States imposed tough economic penalties against Russia after Malaysian passenger airliner MH17 was downed over eastern Ukraine in July.

Western leaders have accused pro-Russian separatists of shooting down the plane with a Russia-supplied missile.

Moscow has accused the Ukrainian military of shooting down the plane.