Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and other top officials have sanctions put on them by Russia
Russia has retaliated to sanctions put on the country by imposing restrictions on several key people at the top of US government.
President Joe Biden is top of the list along with secretary of state Antony Blinken and Hillary Clinton.
The measures would block entry to Russia and freeze any assets held there, but it would not stop high-level talks taking place.
Soon after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Western countries began implementing large-scale sanctions against Russia.
Despite this, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other leaders have continuously called for more to be done.
Russia has also placed sanctions on Biden’s son Hunter, CIA Chief William Burns and White House press secretary Jen Psaki, banning them from entry to Russia ‘on the basis of reciprocity.’
Last week, Biden suspended the normal trade relations with Russia, placing the country’s trade relationship with the US in the same category as North Korea and Cuba. Biden also announced a ban on signature Russian goods, including vodka, seafood and diamonds.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said: ”In response to a series of unprecedented sanctions … from March 15 of this year, the Russian “stop list” includes on the basis of reciprocity President J. Biden, Secretary of State A. Blinken, Secretary of Defense L. Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff M. Milley, as well as a number of departmental heads and well-known American figures.
Since the invasion, Russia has surpassed Iran as the most sanctioned country in the world. Numerous countries have sanctioned Russia and its elites, including President Vladimir Putin.
On Wednesday last week the House passed a massive $1.5 trillion federal spending bill that will keep the government funding through September, and put $14 billion toward war-torn Ukraine.
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