Ukraine: Russia sanctions Biden, Blinken, other US officials

Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister has declared a set of sanctions against President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and a string of senior U.S. officials as President Vladimir Putin hit back in revenge for harsh sanctions.

The announcement came as Washington was unveiling fresh sanctions on President Alexander Lukashenko, Moscow’s ally in Belarus, and 11 key Russian defense officials.

The measure, which also applies to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, “is the consequence of the extremely Russophobic policy pursued by the current US administration”, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

In response to Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine, the United States had banned Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as well as adopting sanctions that have largely cut Russia off financially from the rest of the world.

Russia also put on its stop list Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns and White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

Also on the list are Deputy National Security Advisor Daleep Singh, US Agency for International Development chief Samantha Power, Deputy Treasury Secretary Adewale Adeyemo, and US Export-Import Bank chief Reta Jo Lewis.

Russia also banned from entry Biden’s son Hunter and former secretary of state and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

The foreign ministry warned Moscow will soon announce additional sanctions against a range of “Russophobic” US officials, military officers, lawmakers, businessmen, and media personalities.