As the war in Ukraine continues, Russia says it has sanctioned a number of current and former American officials.
The list includes President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, White House press secretary Jen Psaki, and – oddly, since she’s out of office – former secretary of state Hillary Clinton. Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the sanctions on Twitter.
“In response to a series of unprecedented sanctions prohibiting, among other things, entry into the United States for top Russian officials, effective March 15 this year, the Russian ‘stop list’ includes @JoeBiden, @SecBlinken and a number of other American figures on the basis of reciprocity,” the ministry said on Tuesday.
Russia also sanctioned Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, CIA Director William Burns, and other economic and financial officials.
President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, were also included, but he do not serve in the U.S. government.
It is not entirely clear what the Russian government hopes to achieve by sanctioning Hunter Biden.
While he was once a board member of Ukrainian natural gas producer Burisma Holdings until his four-year term expired in 2019, he is now an artist.
His time on the board of Burisma is the focus of an unsupported conspiracy theory popularised by former President Donald Trump and his followers.
