As Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine continues, the country has updated its list of Americans banned from entering the country. Russia added 25 new people who were described as “high-ranking officials, representatives of the business and expert communities, as well as cultural figures” and in the list were two well-known Hollywood actors.
Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released an official statement, declaring that actors Ben Stiller and Sean Penn are banned from entering the country. The two were listed alongside 25 political and business figures such as Florida Republican senator Richard Scott, Arizona Democratic senator Mark Kelly, and North Dakota Republican senator Kevin Kramer, just to name a few.
According to the Russian Government, this update was in response to the “ever-expanding” personal sanctions by the Biden administration against Russian Citizens.
“In response to the ever-expanding personal sanctions by the G. Biden Administration against Russian citizens, against another group of persons from among members of the US Congress, high-ranking officials, representatives of the business and expert communities, as well as cultural figures (25 people), a ban on entry into the Russian Federation on a permanent basis.”
It’s been over six months since Russia invaded Ukraine, and over 7 million refugees have fled the country. Since then, it has been reported that Penn was filming a documentary about the ongoing invasion with the support of Ukraine’s government officials. Meanwhile, events such as Cannes Film Festival and Eurovision became platforms for Ukrainian creatives to call for support and to remind the world what their country is currently going through.