Russia refuses to let 92 American journalists, attorneys, and businesspeople enter

Russia’s foreign ministry announced on Wednesday that it was denying entrance to Russia to ninety-two American citizens, including journalists, attorneys, and the CEOs of major military-industrial companies, due to what it called Washington’s anti-Russian sentiment.

Since the height of the Cold War, Moscow’s relations with the United States have been at their most precarious due to the conflict in Ukraine. Russia said on Tuesday that the West was risking something dangerous by thinking about letting Ukraine use Western missiles to penetrate deep into Russia.

Four Wall Street Journal staffers, five prominent journalists from the New York Times, and four from the Washington Post were on the list, which the ministry posted on Telegram.

Requests for comment from Reuters were not immediately answered by the three publications.

The editorial staff and reporters of “leading liberal-globalist publications” that it claimed were “fakes” regarding the Russian armed forces were the targets of Russia’s foreign ministry’s announcement.

The announcement stated that the prohibitions were a reaction to the “Russophobic course” taken by the Biden administration, of which the broad sanctions against Russian businesspeople, officials, scientists, and journalists had been a major component.

“We remind the current U.S. authorities about the inevitability of punishment for hostile actions, whether it is direct encouragement of (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskiy and his henchmen to commit acts of aggression and terrorist attacks or attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of the Russian Federation,” said the ministry.

Russia describes its actions in Ukraine as a “special military operation” and links them to a larger conflict with the West, which it claims is trying to subjugate Russia. This is rejected by Kiev and the West, who charge Russia with conducting an unlawful conquest war.

Several state prosecutors, staff members of American defense industry companies, and academics were also on the list.