Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton are among White House officials to have been banned from entering Russia.
Twelve other officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, press secretary Jen Psaki and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, were hit by the sanctions announced by Russia’s foreign ministry on Tuesday.
As well as barring them from entering the country, any assets held there will be frozen.
The move by the Kremlin is in retaliation for America’s own sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s foreign ministry said it was “on the basis of reciprocity”.
“It is the consequence of the extremely Russophobic policy pursued by the current US administration,” it said in a statement.
The foreign ministry said it would still maintain official relations with Washington and make high-level contact with those on the list if necessary.
Mr Biden has not visited Russia since 2011, when he was vice president to Barack Obama.
His trip to Moscow included talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Meanwhile, former Secretary of State and presidential nominee for the Democrats, Hillary Clinton called it a “Lifetime Achievement Award”.
She wrote on Twitter: “I want to thank the Russian Academy for this Lifetime Achievement Award.”
I want to thank the Russian Academy for this Lifetime Achievement Award. https://t.co/4og9S3OCEp
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 15, 2022
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said she had “no plans for a holiday in Russia anyway”.
It comes as the US slapped its own sanctions on 11 Russian defence leaders and signalled that it could target Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko next.
The UK also imposed sanctions on another 370 Russian individuals, including former Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday.
The invasion of Ukraine entered its 21st day on Wednesday.
