Russia expands travel ban to 92 more Americans

Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday that 92 additional Americans have been banned from entering the country. The expanded list includes journalists, law enforcement officials, business executives, and academics, further intensifying the diplomatic tensions between Moscow and Washington.

The ministry explained that the bans were imposed as a direct response to the “Russophobic course pursued by the Biden administration with the declared goal of ‘inflicting a strategic defeat on Moscow.'”

We remind the current US authorities of the inevitability of punishment for the hostile actions, be they providing direct encouragement to Vladimir Zelensky and his proxies to commit acts of aggression and terrorist attacks or attempts to interfere in the domestic affairs of the Russian Federation. We are resolved to act consistently with regard to including more individuals who are involved in anti-Russia activities on the list of persons who are denied entry to the Russian Federation in response to the outlandish sanction frenzy that the US ruling elite have worked themselves into.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry

Journalists, business leaders among those banned

The new list features several high-profile figures from the media, including 11 current or former staff members of The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). Among them is Editor-in-Chief Emma Tucker, who has been vocal in her criticism of Russia’s actions, particularly the arrest and conviction of WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich on espionage charges. Gershkovich was held in Russian detention for 16 months before being released in a prisoner exchange that occurred in Ankara, Türkiye in August.

Journalists from other leading American publications have also been targeted. Five journalists from The New York Times, including Kyiv Bureau Chief Andrew Kramer, and four from The Washington Post are now banned. The ministry accused these journalists of representing “leading liberal-globalist publications involved in the production and dissemination of ‘fakes’ about Russia and the Russian armed forces.”

Complete list of newly banned Americans

The 92 Americans added to the travel ban list include prominent business leaders, legal professionals, and officials from various sectors. Notable names on the list are:

• Mark Barrenechea, CEO of Open Text
• Jennifer Boykin, executive vice president and head of Newport News Shipbuilding at Huntington Ingalls Industries
• Alexander Caedmon Karp, co-founder and CEO of Palantir Technologies
• Philip Alan Garrant, head of US Space Command’s Space Systems Command
• Emma Tucker, editor-in-chief at The Wall Street Journal
• Lara Jakes, journalist at The New York Times
• Souad Mekhennet, journalist at The Washington Post
• Laurence Henry Tribe, professor at Harvard University
• Stewart Holmes, executive vice president for Government and Client Relations at Huntington Ingalls Industries
• Michael Anthony Guetlein, deputy chief of staff for Space Operations, US Space Force