Russia's Foreign Ministry is sanctioning 398 of the 535 members of the United States Congress, Moscow-backed state media reported on Wednesday.
The Kremlin's latest anti-American measure comes after it criticized U.S. President Joe Biden's comments calling Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine a 'genocide' as 'unacceptable.'
'We categorically disagree and consider unacceptable any attempt to distort the situation in this way,' Putin's spokesman spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on a conference call with reporters, according to Reuters.
He went on, 'It is hardly acceptable for the president of the United States, a country that has committed well-known deeds in modern and recent history.'
Wednesday's sanctions announcement is directly in retaliation for the Biden administration placing sanctions on 328 members of Russia's Putin-influenced parliament known as the Duma.
The 398 U.S. lawmakers are members of the House of Representatives specifically, including the lower chamber's leadership and committee chairs.
Republican Reps. Madison Cawthorn and Marjorie Taylor Greene, among a vocal minority in Congress who criticized Ukraine with points that seem eerily similar to the Kremlin's, are also included on the 'stop list.'
A list of 398 sanctioned lawmakers was posted to the Russian Foreign Ministry's website but did not mention House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, House Intel Chairman Adam Schiff of California, House Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler of New York or Texas GOP Rep. Michael McCaul, among others.
The 398 lawmakers sanctioned by the Kremlin on Wednesday all serve in the House of Representatives, including the chamber's leadership and committee chairs, according to Russian state media
It's not clear if the Foreign Ministry's statement including committee leaders and House leadership on the sanctions is meant to count them.
'Along with other American legislators who were previously banned from entering Russia (like, for example, the Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi) all U.S. congressmen are 'listed' on a reciprocity basis,' the statement reported by TASS News Agency read.
Democrat Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania joked on Twitter, 'Well there goes my Spring Break plans!'
It's reportedly in retaliation for US sanctions on Russia's Duma but comes a day after Biden called Vladimir Putin's war a 'genocide'
The Treasury Department brought down economic restrictions on the Duma toward the beginning of Biden's late March trip to Europe to meet with western allies about the situation in Ukraine.
Also on Wednesday, Biden approved $800 million in new weapons aid for Kyiv's forces following a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Russia has intensified its focus on Ukraine's eastern regions in recent days.
Western intelligence had indicated Moscow intended to take Kyiv, 'behead' its government and instill pro-Putin leadership in a lightening offensive beginning on February 24. The alleged plan appears thwarted as Russian forces retreated from the capital city's suburbs.
The Kremlin spokesman's
