WashingtonRussia is permanently barring almost a thousand Americans from entering the country, including President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, in response to US support for Ukraine and the historic sanctions Moscow faces nearly three months after its invasion.
On Saturday, the Russian Foreign Ministry released an updated list of 963 Americans barred from entering Russia, a largely symbolic move that features a broad collection of members of the Biden administration, Republicans, executives from technology, journalists, legislators who have died, ordinary citizens and even the actor Morgan Freeman.
One prominent name missing from the list: former President Donald Trump.
In fact, the only prominent Trump administration official included in the ban is former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
“In the imposed context of response to the continued sanctions against Russia by the United States and in connection with incoming requests regarding the personal composition of our national composition ‘exclusion list’, the Russian Foreign Ministry publishes a list of US citizens who are permanently barred from entering the Russian Federation,” the Foreign Ministry said in a press release.
Some of those mentioned on Saturday’s list, including Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, were sanctioned in March and barred from entering Russia.
The list appears to include top Biden administration officials such as Harris, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and former White House press secretary Jen Psaki. The president’s son, Hunter Biden, is also named, as is former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Saturday.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry list of 963 Americans includes many members of Congress, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York , and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, is not on the list. Also not on the list is Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, who delayed a Senate vote on aid to Ukraine last week when he was the only senator to object. The Senate approved the measure this week, and Biden signed the $40 billion package of new military and humanitarian assistance as he signed it into law in Ukraine on Saturday while visiting Seoul.
The list of banned Americans was published at a time when Russia continues its heavy bombardment of Severodonetsk, the easternmost city under Ukraine’s control, which appears to be the next major battlefield of the war. There is fighting on the outskirts of the city and “the Russians are destroying Severodonetsk, like Mariupol,” Lugansk Governor Serhiy Haidai said on Saturday morning. He said six civilians were killed on Friday during Russian shelling in and around the city.
After the United States and other countries imposed historic sanctions on Russia over the invasion, Americans continue to staunchly support Ukraine, with a large bipartisan majority in favor of increased sanctions against Russia and a majority also backing military and humanitarian support for the Ukrainians, according to the Washington Post-ABC News poll earlier this month. Overall, 73 percent say the United States is doing the right thing or doing too little to support Ukraine.
Russia announced its own sanctions against the United States in March, excluding Biden and other officials from the country’s administration.
–
