Russia Issues Sanctions Against Jill Biden

Russia has announced sanctions against the United States' First Lady, Jill Biden, amid its ongoing conflict with Ukraine.

The wife of President Joe Biden and his daughter, Ashley, are two of the 25 Americans who have been targeted by the new package of sanctions announced by Moscow this week.

Other people named on the sanctions list include US senators Susan Collins of Maine, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Charles Grassley of Iowa and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, as well as several university professors, researchers and former US government officials.

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A statement from Russia's foreign ministry explained the move against Biden's family members and other Americans was taken 'as a response to the ever-expanding US sanctions against Russian political and public figures'.

Those named by Moscow have been added to a 'stop list' and are banned from visiting Russia, according to AFP.

News of the sanctions comes after President Biden met with G7 leaders and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Germany on Monday, 27 June, to build on the US's 'unprecedented' sanctions designed to hold Russian president Vladimir Putin 'accountable' for the war, which began in February.

The meeting focused on 'significant new sanctions commitments to further intensify [...] economic measures against Russia'.

A statement from the White House explained: "Our measures will continue to sap Putin’s military-industrial complex of critical components, prevent the central bank’s foreign reserves from propping up an ailing economy and deprive Putin of the resources he needs to wage his war, and hold the kleptocracy to account for its ill-gotten gains. The effectiveness of our measures will only compound over time to further isolate Russia from the world economy."

Details of the plans were shared by Biden on Twitter and include taking measures to target Russian military production and supply chains, using tariffs on Russian goods and restricting Russia's participation in the global market.

The US and G7 leaders also committed to ensuring consequences for those responsible for human rights abuses such as war crimes and making a 'significant G7 Commitment for Budgetary Support and other support for Ukraine'.

'Hundreds' more individuals and entities are set to be hit with sanctions from the US, on top of the more than 1,000 already sanctioned, the White House statement explained.

Biden's meetings about the ongoing war continue today, 28 June, as he arrived in Spain for a Nato summit, where leaders will discuss defence for Ukraine and the next phase of the conflict.

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