Russia BANS Joe Biden and demands return of Alaska as state TV calls for nuclear strikes on US over Ukraine

RUSSIA has slapped a ban on Joe Biden and called for Alaska to become part of its territory again - as Vladimir Putin strikes back at the growing economic blockade against his regime.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov slapped the restrictions on the US President as well as 12 other senior US officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

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The sanctions, which target Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and CIA director Bill Burns, bans them from entering Russia.

Others on the country's list include National Security Council economist Daleep Singh, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki and Biden’s son Hunter as well as the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Meanwhile, Washington has increased its pressure on Russia and unveiled fresh sanctions on President Alexander Lukashenko, Moscow's ally in Belarus, as well as 11 key Russian defence officials.

Psaki responded by saying the ban would have no effect as “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”.

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Clinton also responded in a sarcastic tweet, writing: “I want to thank the Russian Academy for this Lifetime Achievement Award.”

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement it was acting “in response to a series of unprecedented sanctions” and was imposing its own measures “on the basis of reciprocity”.

It added the actions were an “inevitable consequence of the extremely Russophobic course taken by the current US Administration".

The move comes after a member of Russia’s parliament called for reparations from the US on Sunday, which included the return of its historic settlement in Alaska.

The US bought the 586,412 square mile territory from the Russian Empire in 1867 in a deal known as the Alaska Purchase.

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The US State Department recently added Viktor Zolotov, the commander-in-chief of Russia’s National Guard, and Alexander Mikheev, the director-general of Rosoboronexport, a state-controlled company trading in weapons, to its sanctions list.

Duma member Oleg Matveychev, appeared on Russian state news on Sunday, stating a series of demands from both Washington and Kyiv “after Ukraine’s demilitarisation is completed”.

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“We should be thinking about reparations from the damage that was caused by the sanctions and the war itself, because that too costs money and we should get it back,” Matveychev said on TV show Sunday Evening With Vladimir Solovyov.

He added: “The return of all Russian properties, those of the Russian empire, the Soviet Union and current Russia, which has been seized in the United States, and so on.”

Solovyov asked if the lawmaker specifically meant Alaska and the former Russian settlement of Fort Ross, California.

“That was my next point. As well as the Antarctic,” Matveychev said. “We discovered it, so it belongs to us.”

Solovyov also appeared to endorse a nuclear strike on “those who took our money”.

He said: “I still think that those who took our money should be told, you have 24 hours to unfreeze our funds, or else we’ll send you what you know we’ve got. 

“Your choice. Tactical or strategic, take a pick. You took our money, you’re the thieves, our talk is short with you: a bullet to the head,' he said.

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The first Russian colony in Alaska, called the Three Saints Bay, was created in 1784.

Alaska was sold to the US in 1867 for $7.2million, equivalent to $144.4m in 2021.

Fort Ross, three hours from San Francisco, was built by the Russian-American Company in 1812.

It was sold into private hands in 1841.

It comes as:

• China is willing to send weapons to Russia to help its invasion, the US has warned. 
• Sobbing Russian soldiers apologised for killing "civilians and children" in Ukraine.
• A Russian drone was reportedly shot down in Ukraine today after claims it flew into Polish airspace.
• An anti-war activist stormed Russia's main propaganda news show with a sign saying: "They're lying to you."
• One of the world's most fearsome snipers has vowed that he "won't hesitate to squeeze the trigger".
• Brit fighter says Ukrainian forces are “like the Taliban on steroids”.
• Russia has released chilling new footage of its hypersonic nuke missile that could hit London in five minutes.

Pundits on Russian state TV have also been racketing up the propaganda.

One TV host backed the idea of publicly hanging Ukrainians who stood opposed to Russia, an idea already floated by the Kremlin, Bloomberg has reported.

He said: ‘In the area where the special military operation for de-Nazification is taking place, I would restore the death penalty by hanging through a military tribunal, for terrorists and people who threaten peaceful civilians, and for those who abuse our captives. In my opinion, it is fundamentally important”

Roman Abramovich is also feeling the squeeze as the economic sanctions start to bite.

Two superyachts belonging to the battered billionaire have now set sail to evade sanctions imposed on him by the European Union, who allege he has "privileged access" to Vladimir Putin.

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Abramovich's two superyachts, the £430million My Solaris and the £1billion Eclipse, could also be on their way to Turkey in a bid to avoid being seized, according MarineTraffic.

Abramovich, who also holds Israeli and Portuguese citizenship, was among seven Russian billionaires added to the British sanctions list last week.