Russia’s foreign ministry has announced that it has barred U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and 27 other prominent Americans from entering the country.
In a statement on its website on Thursday, the ministry said that the move came as a response to “ever-widening anti-Russian sanctions” brought on by the Biden administration. It claimed to be targeting top executives, public intellectuals and journalists shaping what it referred to as “the Russophobic narrative” prevailing in US public debate.
Alongside Harris and Zuckerberg, the ban includes top defense and justice officials; the CEOs of LinkedIn and Bank of America; high-profile foreign affairs commentators; as well as the editor of the Russia-focused Meduza news website.
In a statement Thursday, the ministry said that the travel bans would apply “in perpetuity” and that the sanctions list would be updated “shortly” in responsible to the “hostile actions” of Western authorities.
Similar restrictions were imposed on 61 Canadian citizens, similarly accused of spearheading “Russophobic” policies. Those sanctioned include Cameron Ahmad, director of communications to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Canadian Special Operations Forces Commander Steve Boivin.
Also on Thursday, Russia ordered the closure of all consular missions maintained in the country by Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, expelling all their non-Russian staff in retaliation to similar moves by the Baltic states.
