The White House has dismissed sanctions Russia has imposed on President Joe Biden, top aides, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and first son Hunter Biden as his administration slaps more punitive measures on Russian President Vladimir Putin and his allies over the war in Ukraine.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki is among the 12 U.S. officials, in addition to Hunter Biden, whom Moscow has singled out for travel bans and asset freezing.
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“President Biden is a junior, so they may have sanctioned his dad, may he rest in peace,” Psaki told reporters Tuesday. “What I would say is that [it] won’t surprise any of you that none of us are planning tourist trips to Russia, and none of us have bank accounts that we won’t be able to access. So we will forge ahead.”
The Kremlin actions also cover Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, CIA Director William Burns, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, deputy national security adviser Daleep Singh, USAID Director Samantha Power, Deputy Treasury Secretary Adewale Adeyemo, and Export-Import Bank Chairwoman Reta Jo Lewis.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to address Congress on Wednesday and is expected to repeat his appeals for more U.S. security, humanitarian, and economic assistance, including enforcing a no-fly zone. But Psaki said the Pentagon’s assessment regarding the repercussions of a no-fly zone had not changed.
“A no-fly zone is escalatory and could prompt a war with Russia, a nuclear power,” she said.
Psaki also announced Biden would travel to Brussels next week for meetings with the European Union and NATO but did not confirm whether the itinerary would address the refugee aspect of the war, as it is now up to 3 million Ukrainians who have fled the country.
“His goal is to meet in person, face to face, with his European counterparts and talk about where we are in the conflict with Russia,” she said.
Earlier Tuesday, Clinton similarly laughed off Russia’s sanctions, tweeting, “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
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Former President Donald Trump, who was not targeted, suggested the move may explain “why the Biden family received $3.5 million from the very wealthy former mayor of Moscow’s wife.”
