Russia has published a list of 963 prominent Americans, including US President Joe Biden, Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg and Hollywood veteran actor Morgan Freeman, banned from entering the country in retaliation for similar actions carried out by Washington since it invaded Ukraine.
The names in the list published on the Russian foreign ministry’s website also include US government officials, lawmakers and other prominent figures.
Moscow had previously announced sanctions targeting many of the people on the list, Biden in particular, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the head of the Pentagon Lloyd Austin, and Zuckerberg.
In the statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said “counter-sanctions are necessary and aim to constrain the US which is trying to impose a neocolonial ‘world order’ on the rest of the planet… to change its position and recognize new geopolitical realities.”
The statement added that Moscow still remains open to dialogue, and made a distinction between the people of the US and the authorities “inciting Russophobia”.
Moscow has banned hundreds of “Anglo-Saxons” from Russia since it launched its invasion of Ukraine. On Saturday, it said it had banned 26 more Canadians, including Sophie Trudeau, the wife of the Canadian Prime Minister.
