Ben Stiller And Sean Penn Join List Of Notable Americans Banned From Russia

In the country's most recent sanctions against the U.S., Russia announced the ban on two famous Hollywood actors. The country is currently embroiled in a war with Ukraine after launching a large-scale invasion earlier this year.

In the middle of hostilities, "Meet The Parents" actor Ben Stiller traveled to Ukraine to sympathize with the country and its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The actor was named a Goodwill Ambassador in 2018.

Another Hollywood actor, Sean Penn, made a similar visit to Ukraine, however, with a different intention. The 62-year-old is currently in the process of filming a documentary on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In response to the two stars' moves, the Russian Foreign Ministry released a statement banning the duo from visiting the country.

Russia's latest sanctions against the U.S. revealed that Hollywood stars Penn and Stiller were banned from stepping into Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry announced a statement on its official website (via Newsweek). According to them, the decision was "in response to the ever-expanding personal sanctions by the Biden Administration against Russian citizens."

The duo is only two out of the war-waging country's already banned 25 U.S. citizens. The others listed include other actors like Morgan Freeman, "members of the U.S. Congress, high-ranking officials," and "representatives of the business and expert communities."

Penn and Stiller previously visited Ukraine on separate occasions in order to meet with the European nation's president, Zelenskyy. The duo has been particularly vocal about their support of the country, with Penn filming a documentary on Ukraine and Stiller touring the country on World Refugee Day.

In June this year, famous actor Stiller paid a visit to Ukraine, where he met with the Ukrainian President, Zelenskyy. During the visit, the 56-year-old called the president his "hero" and commended him for his efforts in the war-torn country.

The actor has been a famous face in rousing attention to refugee cases and has met up with a number of refugees in locations like Lebanon, Jordan, Guatemala, and several other places. The website for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees revealed that Stiller started helping as far back as 2016, and in July 2018, he was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador.

During his tour with Zelenskyy, the duo went around heavily bombed Irpin, a still-occupied city in Ukraine near Kyiv. Stiller said, "It's one thing to see this destruction on TV or on social networks. Another thing is to see it all with your own eyes. That's a lot more shocking."

The president responded, "What you saw in Irpin is definitely dreadful. But it is even worse to just imagine what is happening in the settlements that are still under temporary occupation in the east."

Penn, on his end, is offering his services to Ukraine as a filmmaker. The 62-year-old is reportedly in the process of filming a documentary centered on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Penn was in Kyiv for that purpose in February, and at the time, the Ukrainian government welcomed him and thanked him for his efforts to televise their situation. The country's statement at the time read, "The director specially came to Kyiv to record all the events that are currently happening in Ukraine and to tell the world the truth about Russia's invasion of our country."

It continued, "Sean Penn is among those who support Ukraine in Ukraine today. Our country is grateful to him for such a show of courage and honesty."

The 62-year-old's first time in the country was in November 2021 to conduct research for his documentary. The visit was photographed and showed the actor in combat gear detailing his experience in the country. The documentary is reportedly in collaboration with VICE Studios.

February 24 saw a large-scale attack on Ukraine by Russia's president Vladimir Putin. The attack brought worldwide condemnation from countries and celebrities alike, and the country's assets in several locations were frozen.

Over $30 billion of the country's assets in the U.S. and the country's allies were announced to be frozen by the United State Department of Justice in June. Several other US-owned service providers went on to pull out their services from Russia.

Two months after the June announcement, the United States Department of the Treasury mentioned in a press release that the department was probing a number of "Kremlin-connected elites."

These include the founder and previous Deputy Chairman of PhosAgro, Andrey Grigoryevich Guryev, as well as Viktor Filippovich Rashnikov, the head of the Publichnoe Aktsionernoe Obschestvo Magnitogorskiy Metallurgicheskiy Kombinat (MMK) board of directors.