Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva arrived in San Antonio, Texas, early Friday morning after being freed from Russian prisons in a mass prisoner swap.
Russia's Foreign Ministry announced 92 additions Wednesday to its list of Americans banned from entering the country, including some journalists who formerly worked in Russia, and law enforcement and business people.
A ministry statement said the bans were imposed “in response to the Russophobic course pursued by the Biden administration with the declared goal of 'inflicting a strategic defeat on Moscow.'”
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It said the banned journalists represent “leading liberal-globalist publications involved in the production and dissemination of ‘fakes’ about Russia and the Russian armed forces.”
The new list of banned Americans includes 11 current or former staff members of the Wall Street Journal — including its Editor in Chief, Emma Tucker. She had repeatedly criticized Russia for the arrest and conviction on espionage charges of WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich, who spent 16 months behind bars before being released in August in a prisoner exchange.
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The ban has also been imposed on five New York Times journalists, including Kyiv Bureau Chief Andrew Kramer, and four from The Washington Post.
Other Americans on the list include people working for law enforcement agencies, academics and figures from businesses and think tanks.
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Russia has banned more than 2,000 Americans from entry, according to a ministry list.
