Moscow reacted immediately. Following the sanctions imposed on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine, the Kremlin on Thursday, April 21, banned 29 American figures from entering its territory, including Meta leader Mark Zuckerberg and US Vice President Kamala Harris.
>> Follow live the latest information on the situation in Ukraine
In addition, 61 Canadian personalities, mostly government or military officials, are also targeted for this measure. These American and Canadian citizens “are banned from entering Russia indefinitely,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in two statements.
On the American side, several government officials such as Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks and Pentagon spokesman John Kirby are being targeted. This is also true of several figures in finance, such as the head of the powerful Bank of America Brian Moynihan, and in the defense industry, such as Northrop Grumman head Kathy Warden.
Eventually, several media personalities were also targeted, including George Stephanopoulos, co-host of ABC morning show Good Morning America, and David Ignatius, columnist for the Washington Post. Russian diplomacy says it has targeted these “journalists and experts” and accuses them of defending a “russophobic agenda”.
On the Canadian side, we find in particular Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s communications director, Cameron Ahmad, and the commander of the special forces, Steve Boivin. Russia had previously sanctioned several hundred American and Canadian figures, including US President Joe Biden and Justin Trudeau, in response to their countries’ punitive measures against Moscow.