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The foreign ministry included the actors on a new list of 25
U.S. citizens - mostly politicians, trade officials and
industrial executives - that it was placing under sanctions and
banning from entering Russia.
Stiller and Penn have been vocal supporters of Ukraine in the
conflict and have met Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in
high-profile shows of support.
In a televised meeting in Kyiv in June, Stiller, star of "Zoolander",
"Meet the Parents" and "Dodgeball", told Zelenskiy: "You're my
hero."
Two-time Oscar winner Penn was in Ukraine recording a
documentary when Russia invaded on Feb. 24. He was forced to
flee on foot, joining the millions of Ukrainians crossing into
Poland in the first days of the war.
He has been a vocal backer of Zelenskiy since, returning to
Ukraine in June to meet the Ukrainian leader. Penn also visited
Bucha and Irpin near Kyiv, the sites of alleged atrocities
against civilians by Russian forces, and Zelenskiy has publicly
thanked Penn for his support.
Russia denies targeting civilians in what it calls a "special
military operation" to protect Ukraine's Russian-speakers from
persecution and defuse a Western threat to its security. Kyiv
and the West say these are baseless pretexts for a war of
aggression.
The sanctions freeze any Russian assets that those on the list
have, prohibit Russian citizens from doing business with them,
and ban them from travelling to Russia.
The list also included U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo,
four deputy commerce secretaries and six U.S. senators.
The West has imposed an unprecedented barrage of economic and
personal sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of
Ukraine.
Moscow has retaliated with tit-for-tat sanctions on politicians,
business leaders and cultural figures who it says are hostile to
Russia.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
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