Russia placed sanctions on US First Lady Jill Biden and daughter Ashley as part of a new package of restrictions the country imposed on 25 American personalities.
According to the Russian foreign ministry, the names on the list, which include the wife and daughter of US President Joe Biden, are banned from entering Russian territory indefinitely.
The ministry stated that the measure is "a response to the ever-expanding US sanctions against Russian political and public figures."
Prominent US politicians are also included on the list, including senior Republican Mitch McConnell and fellow GOP member Benjamin Sass.
Names of sociologists and historians behind "Russophobic" regulations were also listed, per Newsweek.
The list includes the names of David Kramer, a former assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights, and labor under the George W. Bush administration; Morgan Stanley's head of European economics, Jacob Nell, and Stanford professors Francis Fukuyama and Larry Diamond.
The most recent announcement from Moscow follows similar travel restrictions imposed on some individuals, per The Independent.
Sanctions Vs. Sanctions
Moscow's penalties against the First Lady and the presidential daughter come as Pres. Biden is on his way to attend the NATO summit in Madrid, which would deal with the conflict in Ukraine.
The United States on Monday imposed increased tariffs on Russian commodities, limitations on gold exports, and penalties against several individuals and organizations backing Russia's aggression on Ukraine. These add to the already extensive package of sanctions imposed by the United States and other countries against substantial components of the Russian economy, Russian President Vladimir Putin, his family, close circle, and elites in Russia.
The West has imposed extensive sanctions on Russia since it invaded Ukraine in February, and these most recent sanctions from Moscow follow those measures.
Some of the sanctions placed by the West have targeted senior Russian officials, including the family of President Vladimir Putin, his daughters, and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his family.
Moreover, according to Forbes, the G-7 leaders are attempting to negotiate a ceiling on the price of Russian oil, which would shut off one of Putin's main sources of income while addressing the skyrocketing energy costs brought on by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Macron Says Russia Must Be Defeated
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron cautioned on Tuesday that Russia "cannot and should not win" its war against Ukraine.
In a news conference at the G7 summit in Bavaria, Macron stated: "Our support for Ukraine and our sanctions against Russia will be maintained as long as needed and with the intensity needed in the upcoming weeks and months."
When journalists asked the French leader about his reaction to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's call to finish the war before the year ends, Macron answered, "No one is considering an end of the war in the next weeks or months."
The French president said he hopes the war will end this year but "only with the certainty that Russia cannot and should not win."
Macron also condemned the recent Russian missile attack on a crowded shopping mall in central Ukraine, calling it a "war crime," but he refused to call Russia a "state sponsoring terrorism," a term used by President Zelensky following the horrific incident.
Related Article: Zelensky: Russian Troops Fire Missiles At Shopping Mall in Ukraine With 1,000 People
