Russia sanctions first lady Jill Biden, daughter among 25 Americans

June 28 (UPI) — First Lady Jill Biden and her daughter Ashley Biden are two of the 25 Americans covered by Russia’s latest round of sanctions, barring them from entering the country, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, as well as Maine Sen. Susan Collins and New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand are also on the list released Tuesday by the ministry.

“As a response to the ever-expanding U.S. sanctions against Russian political and public figures, 25 American citizens from among the senators responsible for the formation of the Russophobic course, participants in the so-called the McFaul-Yermak group, which develops recommendations on anti-Russian restrictions, as well as members of the family of President John Biden,” the ministry said in its statement, which also misspells the first name of U.S. President Joe Biden.

Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley is also on the new list, along with Richard Morningstar, the former U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan.

A number of prominent professors from prominent academic institutions are also on the list, which is in addition to a separate list of U.S. citizens under personal sanctions, including a ban on entry into the Russian Federation.

“I have no reaction to that other than it just goes to show you that the Russian capacity for these kinds of cynical moves is basically bottomless, so it probably shouldn’t come as a surprise to any of us that they would do something like this,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One, in a transcript released by the White House.

The Kremlin has been slammed with economic sanctions since its invasion of Ukraine in late February. Tuesday’s list is seen as a response to that.

This comes after the Russian government officially missed bond payments on international debt for the first time in a century Sunday because of Western sanctions that limited access to the global capital markets.

Moscow’s struggles are threatening its bond ratings, but Russian officials said the default was induced by the United States and allies cutting it off from the market.