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Russia slaps sanctions on Ukraine for going too far in unfriendly actions

The foreign ministry spokeswoman said Russia "refrained from taking such measures for a long time"

MOSCOW, November 1. /TASS/. Moscow imposed retaliatory sanctions on Kiev because the Ukrainian authorities had gone too far in their unfriendly actions, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Thursday.

"We did not initiate sanctions but only took reciprocal steps," she pointed out. "Russia refrained from taking such measures for a long time but the current Kiev regime has gone too far to escape facing the consequences of their unfriendly steps," she added.

In response to a question about the West’s possible negative reaction to Moscow’s move, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said: "People who promote a global idea of sanctions, should show some understanding."

Russia’s retaliatory sanctions

On November 1, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a government order implementing a presidential decree aimed at introducing "economic restrictions following Ukraine’s unfriendly actions towards Russian individuals and companies." The document imposes restrictions on 322 Ukrainian individuals and 68 companies. "Special economic measures against Ukrainian individuals and entities include freezing non-cash funds, non-documentary securities and property in Russia and banning the transfer of outside Russia," the cabinet said in a statement.

Russia’s sanctions will particularly apply to Ukrainian Constitutional Court judges, Verkhovna Rada (parliament) members, including its speaker Andrei Parubiy, as well as to big businessmen, presidential administration officials, other high-ranking state officials, big companies’ CEOs and entities controlled by the country’s biggest businessmen.

At the same time, the Russian cabinet stressed that it "reserves the right to remove these special economic restrictions in case Ukraine lifts sanctions imposed on Russian citizens and entities.".