Russia Sanctions Hunter Biden, Bans Him From Entering Country

Russia on Tuesday announced sanctions against a number of prominent American figures, including President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

In a statement released on Facebook, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the sanctions were imposed "in response to a series of unprecedented sanctions prohibiting, among other things, entry into the United States for top officials of the Russian Federation."

The sanctions target 13 Americans, including President Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, national security adviser Jake Sullivan, CIA Director William Burns, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, White House press secretary Jen Psaki, deputy assistant national security adviser Duleep Singh, Director of the Agency for International Development Samantha Power, Deputy Treasury Secretary Adewale Adeyemo, president and chairman of the Export-Import Bank Reta Joe Lewis and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

However, the list also included a surprise: the son of the U.S. president, Hunter Biden.

It is unclear why Hunter was banned or what Russia hopes to achieve by banning the First Son. Hunter had once served as a board member of Ukrainian natural gas producer Burisma Holdings but his term ended in 2019. The First Son is currently working as an artist.

The foreign ministry said the names placed on Russia’s “stop list” would no longer be allowed to enter the country. Any assets they have in Russia would also be frozen. The ministry added that they plan to expand the list in the future to include other “Russophobic” U.S. figures, military officers, business owners and lawmakers.

In addition to sanctioning American figures, Russia also imposed similar measures against 13 Canadians, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The move comes after the U.S. and other countries in the West imposed crippling economic sanctions on Russia, including its president Vladimir Putin, over its invasion of Ukraine.

President Biden last month imposed sanctions that targeted Russian banks, elites, entities and enterprises. The U.S. and its Canadian and European allies also moved to remove several Russian banks from the SWIFT financial system. Last week, Biden also announced a ban on all imports of Russian oil, gas and energy to the U.S.