Bucha attackers targeted in U.S. visa bans

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that new U.S. visa bans on more than 2,600 Russian and Belarusian military officials included personnel believed to have operated in Bucha, a town outside of Kyiv where Russian forces are accused of executing residents.

Announcing a new policy of visa restrictions targeting Russian and pro-Russian forces in Ukraine, the State Department said it imposed bans on 2,596 members of the Russian military and 13 Belarusian military officials. The visa bans apply to the officials and their immediate family members.

“Included among this group are personnel who reportedly took part in Russian military activities in Bucha, the horrors of which have shocked the world,” Blinken said in a statement. Ukrainian officials have said hundreds of civilians were found dead after Russian troops left the town. Russian officials have said the killings were faked.

The State Department also blacklisted eight Russian maritime-related companies and 69 vessels, which would now appear of a U.S. Treasury Department sanctions list that blocks them from doing business in the United States or with U.S. persons.