Putin Fires Back With Russian Sanctions Against Hunter Biden, Hillary Clinton, 11 Other Americans

Multiple American figures found themselves in the brunt of Russian sanctions on Tuesday, March 15, as the country puts up largely-symbolic sanctions preventing entry and transactions in Russia and its territories.

The Russian Foreign Ministry released a list of 13 Americans who are prohibited from entering Russia and will have any of their Russian assets seized. The list includes U.S. President Joe Biden, his son Hunter, and former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, according to CBS News.

Many individuals in the U.S. military and intelligence community have also been sanctioned, and others including White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power are included in the list, the New York Post reported.

The Russians warn that this will only be the beginning of sanctions against individuals in the country and that they will be targeting more officials in the United States with sanctions in the future if they deem necessary.

Although there is no official statement rebuking the sanctions, Psaki herself has brushed off the Russian sanctions, saying that none of the sanctioned individuals plan to go to Russia or have bank accounts in Russia that they need to worry about.

Meanwhile, many people online thought that the inclusion of Hunter Biden was a way of “sanctions trolling” by the Russians to ignite the fervor of right-wing politicians and commentators, according to the Independent.

In spite of the sanctions imposed on President Biden and many of the U.S. military and intelligence community, the Russian Foreign Ministry has stated that they are allowed to talk to Russia in high-level contacts if deemed necessary.

Russia is currently facing a large number of sanctions and economic penalties due to its invasion of Ukraine, with the United States successfully crippling the economy of Russia by blocking them out of the SWIFT financial messaging system as well as imposing sanctions on its Central Bank, causing many foreign companies to stop business with the country.