500 people, including Obama, have been banned from entering Russia

Responding to a new round of US sanctions, Russia announced on Friday that it would ban 500 Americans from entering the country, including former President Barack Obama and comedian Stephen Colbert.

The list released by the Foreign Ministry did not specify the charges against each individual, but the ministry alleged that crimes included spreading Russophobia, supplying Ukraine with weapons and persecuting dissidents in the wake of the so-called “Capital Storm”.

The ban included 45 members of the House of Representatives, Sens. They include JT Vance, Katie Britt and Eric Schmidt, and former ambassadors to Russia John Deft and John Huntsman.

The ministry said it also denied a request for US consular access to Wall Street Journal reporter Ivan Gershkovich, who was arrested in late March and charged with espionage.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s visit to the United Nations last month was in retaliation for the US denying visas to Russian journalists who wanted to cover the matter, the Foreign Ministry said.

The most recent set of U.S. sanctions against Russia include tough restrictions already imposed on individuals and entities involved in the war campaign in Ukraine.

The financial sanctions mainly target sanctions evaders related to obtaining technology for the Kremlin.

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