Who are the 25 US citizens that Russia has recently sanctioned

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, there has been much talk of the sanctions by the European Union and the United States on Russian oligarchs and those close to the Kremlin. However, not much has been said on the countermeasures imposed by Moscow on Western personalities.

The latest sanctions by The Kremlin name 25 US citizens from many diverse backgrounds. There are business people, politicians, and even actors and filmmakers.

These measures, according to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, are a response to sanctions imposed by the Biden Administration on Russian nationals.

“This step, taken as a response measure, is the inevitable result of the extreme Russophobic policy of the current US Administration,” the Foreign Ministry explained in a statement, during the first wave of sanctions.

Among the recent addition to the list of those sanctioned by the Kremlin, there are “members of the US Congress, high-level government officials, representatives of the business sector, as well as personalities from the world of culture”. Let's see who they are and why the Kremlin forbids them from entering Russia.

Matthew S. Axelrod currently holds the position of Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security. He's a well-known supporter of sanctions against Moscow.

Photo: United States Department of Commerce, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Bruce M. Bodine is Senior VP of The Mosaic Company for North America. Mosaic is the largest US producer of potash and phosphate fertilizers and generally gets on the Fortune 500 list made by Forbes.

David Boyd Burritt became a persona non grata in Russia due to his position as CEO of US Steel, a large metallurgical corporation with important assets in Central Europe.

Daniel P. Vajdich leads Yorktown Solutions, a lobbying and advocacy firm that has been very active in supporting and representing the interests of the Ukrainian government in the US. As Politico reports, Vajdich said he was “very proud of everything we have done to 'earn' the Kremlin's reproach.”

American political analyst, Russia expert, and former consultant to the US Secretary of State Paul Goble was not spared from the ban imposed by the Kremlin. On several occasions, he has highlighted the strategic mistakes made by Putin on the pages of his blog and in several major newspapers in the United States.

PHOTO: Screenshot Youtube_ Paul Goble: The Sources of Russian Conduct_Westminster Institute

Lourenco Goncalves is President and CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., a mining and natural resources company specializing in steelmaking. In April 2022, during a press conference on the infrastructure law held in Chicago, he declared: "We do not need cast iron from Russia, and we are proud of it", as reported by the Chicago Tribune.

Photo: Youtube Screenshot: Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves Interviewed by Fortune CEO Alan Murray _ Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.

Donet Dominic Graves, Jr. is the current Deputy Secretary of Commerce of the Biden Administration. Always very firm in his stance in regard to Russia, in April 2022 he tweeted: “The images coming out of Ukraine to demonstrate Putin's barbarism, brutality, and blatant disregard for human life.”

Photo: By US Department of Commerce, Public Domain

On his National Endowment for Democracy official website bio, Ryota Jonen is presented as the leader of “a global network of democracy activists, human rights defenders and practitioners”. He was declared Persona Non Grata by Moscow for his work as Director of the World Movement for Democracy.

Photo: Youtube screenshot: Ukraine Solidarity Statement_World Movement for Democracy

Mark Edward Kelly, former US astronaut turned US Democratic Senator for Arizona also has been sanctioned by Russia. Kelly is well known for his condemnation of the war in Ukraine and harsh criticism of Vladimir Putin.

Thea D. Rozman Kendler, Assistant Secretary for Export Administration at the Bureau of Industry and Security of the U.S. Department of Commerce has also been barred by Moscow. She's described by the Department of Commerce website as “the woman behind strict controls on US exports to Russia.”

PHOTO: United States Department of Commerce, Public domain

Victoria is a scholar and academic who works as a regional analyst for Eurasia at the University of the Marine Corps and founder of the consulting firm Central Asian Insights. She's also one of the 25 named Persona Non Grata by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Photo: Screenshot Youtube_Global Journalist: Turkmenistan's silent election_

Another US senator on Russia's ban list is North Dakota Republican Kevin John Cramer. In the aftermath of the Russian attack on Ukraine, he declared: “We needed sanctions months ago to ward off exactly this type of action. Now that Putin has taken these steps we must implement strong, primary and secondary sanctions immediately.”

American lawyer David Michael Crane, who in the past has compared Putin to Hitler, also landed on the list of those sanctioned by the Kremlin.

Photo: Scott Davis, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Jeremy Pelter, who serves as Assistant Secretary of State for Industry and Security, also was declared Persona Non-Grata by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Photo: By US Department of Commerce

Tom Perriello, is executive director of the Open Society Foundations, founded by George Soros, the Hungarian entrepreneur who has always been the target of conspiracy theories and a fierce critic of authoritarian regimes (and Putin).

Gina Raimondo is the current Secretary of Commerce under the Biden Administration. She backed tech-related sanctions which, according to Politico, have had a detrimental effect on the Russian war effort.

Mike Rounds, US Republican Senator for South Dakota, was also included in the Russian sanctions list. He recently proposed a bill to ban foreign countries to buy agricultural land on US soil.

John Serafini is the CEO of HawkEye 360, a company that deals with the collection, mapping and analysis of space radio frequencies. Serafini declared on April 2022 that: “I am eager to work in close collaboration with our space industry peers and NGO partners to help deliver critical aid for the people of Ukraine.”

PHOTOS: Youtube screenshot: Innovation in Fairfax County: HawkEye 360

Another member of the US Senate that has been sanctioned by the Russian government is Arizona's Kyrsten Sinema. In the wake of the Ukrainian war, the Democratic senator stated that she supported “increased, aggressive sanctions” and called NATO and allies to “stand united in swift, decisive action against Russia's aggression.”

Florida Republican Rick Scott is another member of the US Senate that is named in the barred list released by the Russian Foreign Ministry.”The US must immediately help Ukraine and punish Putin and his thugs for their unlawful invasion by imposing severest sanctions and treat Belarus like Russia by taking EVERY action to destroy their economies,” he tweeted in March.

S. Frederick Starr is an American expert on Russian and Eurasian affairs and has served as an advisor to three US Presidents. He's currently the chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and a member of the circle of Western political analysts that the Kremlin labels “falsifiers of reality.”

PHOTO: Youtube screenshot: Stephen Frederick Starr

Republican Senator for Pennsylvania Pat Toomey is another member of the US Congress that has been declared Persona Non Grata by the Kremlin. “The American people stand with Ukraine, and we must help them as they heroically fight for their lives”, he tweeted in March 2022.

W. Anthony Will, President and CEO of CF Industries Holdings, a company that operates in the chemical fertilizer sector, such as the previously mentioned Mosaic. Russia and Belarus are two of the biggest fertilizer powerhouses in the world, which begs the question of why they focus on American fertilizer companies with these sanctions.

PHOTOS: Youtube screenshot: CNBC

It's easy to see why Hollywood actor Sean Penn has been banned from Russia, since the very beginning of the conflict he has declared support and solidarity with the Ukrainian people. Penn has traveled to the country to shoot a documentary on the destruction of the war and even has met with President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Like Sean Penn, Ben Stiller is another Hollywood star that has traveled to Kyiv and got sanctioned by Moscow. “You're my hero”, the actor told the Ukrainian President. The Kremlin was not a fan of of Stiller's actions and words.

Image: UNHCR