Russia has added 25 more U.S. citizens to its sanctions list -- including Hollywood actors Sean Penn and Ben Stiller -- amid rising tensions between Moscow and the West over the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine.
The Foreign Ministry in Moscow said in a statement on September 5 that the move was made in response to Washington's "widening personal sanctions against Russian citizens."
U.S. citizens added to Russia's sanctions list include members of the U.S. Congress, official figures, and representatives of business groups and think tanks.
It also includes Stiller and Penn, who have also been outspoken in their criticism of Moscow's war in Ukraine.
Penn was in Ukraine filming a documentary when the war broke out on February 24 and also visited Bucha and Irpin, the sites of alleged atrocities against civilians by Russian forces. Moscow has denied targeting civilians despite ample evidence
Stiller met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv in June, calling him "my hero."
In total, there are now 1,073 U.S. citizens on Russia's sanctions list.
The United States, the European Union, and other countries have dramatically increased their financial, travel, diplomatic, and other sanctions against Russia since President Vladimir Putin ordered tens of thousands of Russian troops into Ukraine on February 24.
Moscow has since responded in kind.
