Russia has responded to the sweeping sanctions imposed by the US by sanctioning 13 Americans — including President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
Hillary Clinton also made the list.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement, which was translated to English, that the sanctions are an "inevitable consequence of the extremely Russophobic course taken by the current U.S. administration."
Other sanctioned individuals include Secretary of State Antony Blinken; Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley; CIA Director William Joseph Burns; White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki; National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan; Deputy National Security Advisor Daleep Singh; Samantha Jane Power, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development; Adewale Adeyemo, the first deputy minister of finance; and Reta Jo Lewis, the president of the Export-Import Bank. Russia just sanctioned a bunch of US officials. They also included Hunter Biden and Hillary Clinton, among others 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/4znAzWCAKC
— Jordan Schachtel @ dossier.substack.com (@JordanSchachtel) March 15, 2022
The ministry said that they are leaving the possibility open of sanctioning more Americans who are "Russophobic or contribute to inciting hatred towards Russia and the introduction of restrictive measures."
"At the same time, Russia does not refuse to maintain official relations if they meet our national interests, and, if necessary, will solve problems arising from the status of persons who appear on the 'black list' in order to organize high-level contacts," the translated statement continued. Russia has sanctioned Joe Biden and a range of other top US officials.
The main impact of this is they can now make corny jokes on cable news about how they won't be able to access their Russian bank accounts or go on vacation in Siberia, I guess pic.twitter.com/ZQWA0Mhg4R
— max seddon (@maxseddon) March 15, 2022
Clinton responded by mocking the sanctions on Twitter.
"I want to thank the Russian Academy for this Lifetime Achievement Award," the former First Lady wrote. I want to thank the Russian Academy for this Lifetime Achievement Award. https://t.co/4og9S3OCEp
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 15, 2022
Hunter Biden previously held a very high salaried position on the board of one of Ukraine’s largest natural gas companies, Burisma — despite not having any experience in the sector. He had not responded to his placement on the list by the time of publishing.
