Russia bars Biden and other top US officials from entering the country

MOSCOW – Russia permanently barred US President Joe Biden and 962 other US citizens from entering the country on Saturday, in response to Washington’s sanctions on Moscow for the so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine.

“We stress that Washington’s hostile actions will boomerang against the US and will be properly rejected,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement announcing the move.

Moscow stressed that “Russian counter-sanctions are mandatory in nature and aim to force the US ruling regime, which is trying to impose a rules-based neo-colonial world order on the rest of the world, to change its behavior and recognize the new geopolitical realities.”

“Russia does not seek confrontation and is open to a frank, respectful dialogue, differentiating the American people, who have always enjoyed our respect, from the US authorities, who encourage Russophobia, and from those who serve them. Precisely these people are included in the Russian ‘black list’,” Foreign Affairs added.

Biden is on the list, sorted alphabetically in Russian, at number 31, followed by his son Hunter.

Among the senior US officials sanctioned are, among others, the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, the Minister of Defense, Lloyd Austin, and the director of the CIA, William Burns.

The sanctions were announced shortly after Washington reported that Biden enacted in Seoul the bill that includes an additional aid package to Ukraine for almost 40,000 million dollars.