MOSCOW -- Russia announced Saturday that it is barring 13 Americans from entering the country, including Rep. James Moran, D-Va., after Washington blocked access for 13 Russian and Crimean officials in recent months.

The Foreign Ministry also repeated its pledge to counter the most recent round of U.S. economic sanctions with "response measures" of its own.

President Barack Obama's administration on Wednesday announced new measures targeting major Russian banks and energy companies, a significant swath of the Russian defense industry and individuals it said were responsible for the continuing support of separatists battling government forces in eastern Ukraine.

The sanctions came before the downing of a civilian Malaysian Airlines jet over rebel-held Ukrainian airspace on Thursday, an act that Obama indirectly linked to Russia.

"We have repeatedly stated that talking to us in the language of sanctions is useless," Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said. "Such steps will not remain without consequences."

Ten of the Americans who Russia said would not be allowed inside its borders were singled out for their connection to the U.S. military prison at Abu Ghraib, while two were cited for their links to treatment of detainees at the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Moran, who is retiring from Congress at the end of this year, was targeted because "he has repeatedly been accused of financial malpractice but avoided responsibility each time," Lukashevich said.

"There is quite a lot of information online about his 'exploits' and special attitude toward our country."

The United States had placed Adam Delimkhanov, a Russian lawmaker, on its sanctions list earlier this month.

The blacklisted Americans also include Rear Adm. Richard Butler, the current commander of the Joint Task Force-Guantanamo, and U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler because of the roles they played in forcibly ending a hunger strike among Guantanamo detainees.

Kessler, in a ruling issued in May, concluded that the military could legally force-feed prisoners but urged authorities to consider other methods.

U.S. military troops and officials who were named in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal also are on the blacklist, including retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who commanded the coalition forces in Iraq from 2003-2004, and retired Col. Janis Karpinski, who was in charge of the prison in the same years.

In 2013, Russia created a "Guantanamo list" of 18 American names after the United States blocked certain Russians from entering the United States.

In March, the United States blocked entry for and froze the assets of an additional 12 Russian and Crimean officials, as a punishment for Moscow's moves to annex Crimea.

The sanctioning of the 12 Americans connected to Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib is a direct response to that U.S. action, experts said.

Lukashevich did not comment on what economic measures Russia would take in response to the latest round of U.S. sanctions, except to criticize it.

"Economic restrictions in any case have a boomerang effect and inevitably will inflict damage on American businesses focused on the Russian market," Lukashevich said. "Indeed, the U.S. punishes itself."

He suggested that the Russians would not be restrained in their response. "As in the U.S., our 'stop list' remains open," Lukashevich said.

A Section on 07/20/2014