Russia has drawn a new list of sanctions permanently banning 963 Americans from entering the country, including President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris.
On Saturday, the Russian foreign ministry released the updated list of sanctions targeting a number of individuals in response to US support for Ukraine and the sanctions imposed on Russia following Putin’s invasion.
Biden administration members, Republications, tech executives, journalists, regular US citizens, actor Morgan Freeman and even lawmakers who have died are among those named on the list, according to Business Insider.
In a news release, the foreign ministry said, “Russia does not seek confrontation and is open to honest, mutually respectful dialogue, separating the American people, who are always respected by us, from the US authorities, who incite Russophobia, and those who serve them,” adding “it is these people who are included in the Russian ‘black list’.”
While the list includes many members of Congress, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate majority leader Charles Schumer, and House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, ex-American President Donald Trump was not mentioned. However, the former Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, was included.
The updated list of sanctioned individuals from Russia comes at the time when the Senate passed a new aid package measure of $40 billion, providing Ukraine with new military and humanitarian assistance.
Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York is listed as a sanctioned individual, alongside Ilhan Omar, and Ayanna Pressley.
Rep. Lori Trahan, who also appears on the list, tweeted on Saturday: If Vladimir Putin thinks permanently banning me from Russia is going to change my support for Ukraine, I’ve got bad news for him. It’s not. The United States stands with Ukraine.
Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, and Microsoft’s president, Brad Smith, were also added to the list.
Other individuals include journalists David Ignatius of The Washington Post, George Stephanopoulos of ABC News, Susan Glasser of The New Yorker, Bret Stephens of The New York Times and Bianna Golodryga of CNN.