MOSCOW: In response to a new round of American sanctions, Russia announced on Friday it was banning 500 Americans from entering the country, including former president Barack Obama and comedian Stephen Colbert.

The list released by the Russian Foreign Ministry did not specify complaints against each individual. But the ministry said the offenses included spreading Russophobia, supplying Ukraine with arms and officials 'who are directly involved in the persecution of dissidents in the wake of the so-called storm of the Capitol.'