As the turmoil between Russia and Ukraine continues to unfold, Vice President Kamala Harris has been banned from traveling to the country, along with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and a number of U.S. officials.
The imposed sanctions were announced by Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who stated that those who received the travel ban will be “denied entry to the Russian Federation on an indefinite basis.”
The sanctions arose shortly after President Biden announced a $1.3 billion aid package to support Ukraine. Within this package is $800 million in heavy artillery weapons. There are talks of a further $500 million in humanitarian and economic assistance to be provided from the U.S. to Ukraine, all of which likely prompted the latest Russian sanctions.
In fact, numerous U.S. officials are on the latest list of 29 U.S. citizens that have received a travel ban from Russia, including White House chief of staff Ronald Klain, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Holland Hicks, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby, State Department spokesperson Ned Price and Doug Emhoff, Kamala Harris’ husband.
Aside from U.S. officials, The Russian government also extended sanctions to U.S. business people including Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Bank of America CEO Brian Thomas Moynihan, LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky and several heads of major defense companies.
According to the Russian government, the sanctions were put into place because these individuals are considered to “form the Russophobic agenda.”
The Russian government also previously barred President Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton from entering the country, under the same principle.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs acted swiftly with these sanctions that have been termed as “retaliatory” because of what they deem as Biden Administration’s “ever-expanding anti-Russian sanctions” against several Russian citizens.
The U.S. and several other allied countries, including Canada and the UK, have equally imposed a fair share of sanctions against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Sanctions issued include banning Russian oil imports and freezing assets of Russian oligarchs suspected to have been aiding the Kremlin. Canada recently imposed sanctions on Putin’s adult daughters after accusing them of hiding their father’s wealth.