Russia on Monday expanded its list of US citizens banned from entering the country, including actors Sean Penn and Ben Stiller and 23 others, including secretaries of government and undersecretaries and businessmen.
“The permanent ban on entry into Russia is being imposed on a new group of members of the US Congress, senior government officials, businessmen and experts, as well as representatives of the cultural sphere (25 people in total)”the Russian Foreign Ministry (MNE) said in a statement.
The Russian Foreign Ministry explained that this is in response “to the sanctions against Russian citizens that are continuously being extended by the government of the President [dos Estados Unidos] Joe Biden”, because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The list includes the names of actors Sean Penn and Ben Stiller, who visited Kiev in April and June this year, respectively, and met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Both expressed support for Ukraine, and Penn even threatened to destroy his Oscar statuette, an award presented by the American Film Academy, if the Ukrainian head of state was not given the chance to intervene via videoconference at the awards ceremony, which is held annually. seen by millions of people around the world.
Moscow’s blacklist also included U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Commerce Undersecretaries Matthew Axelrod, Don Graves, Thea Rozman Kendler and Jeremy Pelter, as well as several Democratic and Republican senators, business executives and political analysts.
The United States, along with the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada and other countries, have imposed sanctions on Russia for launching a military offensive in Ukraine, an independent state, more than six months ago, both of which include personal restrictions such as the ban on trade with companies or even sectors of the Russian economy.
The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on Feb. 24 has already resulted in more than 13 million people having fled — more than six million internally displaced persons and more than seven million to neighboring countries — according to the latest UN data, which ranks this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion – justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and Russia. imposing sanctions.
The UN on Monday presented 5,718 civilian deaths and 8,199 wounded as confirmed since the war began, which has entered its 194th day, stressing that these numbers are far below the real one.
Source: DN
