Russia Hits Mark Zuckerberg, Kamala Harris, More Americans with Ban Hammer Amid West Sanctions [Full Details]

On Thursday, Russia issued a travel ban against Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and 28 other prominent Americans. The restrictions were established in response to Western sanctions placed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

Top Pentagon officials, US business executives, and journalists are among those subject to the travel restriction, including Vice President Kamala Harris, LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky, and ABC reporter George Stephanopoulos.

Russia's Latest Sanctions Target US Power Players

According to an Insider translation of a press announcement from Russia's foreign ministry, the individuals would be refused entry into the country "indefinitely." According to a translation, the ministry listed the individuals as being responsible for developing "the Russophobic agenda" in the United States.

Other than preventing Zuckerberg and the others on the list from visiting Russia, the sanctions are unlikely to have a big impact. Notably absent from the list were the names of key US corporate executives such as Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, although Twitter and Google-owned YouTube have been engaged in combating Russian disinformation.

A number of the sanctioned journalists on the list discussed the Russian travel restriction on social media. Last month, Russia sanctioned President Joe Biden and then issued measures against 398 members of Congress.

Russia previously declared Facebook and Instagram to be "extremist" groups and banned them. Since 2017, LinkedIn has been restricted in Russia.

Admiral Rachel Levine, a Biden health officer, has also been sanctioned by Vladimir Putin. Levine, who is transgender, was classified as 'Richard/Rachel Levine' before and after her transition, as per Daily Mail.

US Recently Imposed Sanctions on Russian Bank, Bitcoin Business

Since Putin's command to invade Ukraine on February 24, the US and its western allies have placed a series of economic sanctions on Moscow. The US imposed sanctions on a Russian commercial bank and a bitcoin mining business on Wednesday in an attempt to limit Moscow's ability to circumvent sanctions by utilizing cryptocurrencies.

According to reports, Russia's crypto mining business is the world's third largest. More than 40 persons and businesses associated with Russian tycoon Konstantin Malofeyev, who was previously banned, were also sanctioned.

Malofeyev, a pro-Kremlin media entrepreneur, was charged by Biden's Justice Department earlier this month with breaching sanctions imposed in response to Russia's invasion.

The president, his son Hunter Biden, Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and others were among those sanctioned by Moscow on Thursday, including virtually every member of the US House of Representatives.

On Wednesday, Putin stated that his military had successfully tested a missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. NATO has called the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) 'Satan 2' and considers it to be Russia's most powerful weapon. The Pentagon, on the other hand, dismissed worries that the ICBM posed a threat to the US or its allies that day.

Meanwhile, the Russian government imposed sanctions on 61 Canadians on Thursday, barring them from entering the country in response to steps taken against its own citizens, according to Moscow.

Politicians, government officials, journalists, military leaders, and educators were among those targeted by the sanctions. The sanctions come as Russia's military campaign in Ukraine approaches its two-month mark. Per The Globe and Mail, Canada has imposed a number of punitive sanctions on Russia as a result of the aggression, including sending $110 million in military aid to Kyiv and promising another $500 million in the future, including heavy artillery.