UNITED NATIONS, September 26. /TASS/. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin has branded new sanctions imposed by the United States on three Russian citizens working for the Sovfracht company as completely inappropriate on Thursday.

"This seems to be an extension of the old American policy based on unilateral sanctions, national sanctions, which we view as completely unacceptable," the top diplomat answered a question about the sanctions.

On Thursday, the US administration blacklisted five ships, one firm and three individuals for delivering fuel to Russian military in Syria. The sanctions particularly apply to Maritime Assistance, which is described as a "front company" supporting OJSC Sovfracht, and also its staffers Ivan Okorokov, Karen Stepanyan, and Ilya Loginov. The five blacklisted ships are The Yaz, The Sig, The Sudak, The Passat, and The OT-2077. The ships in question, according to the US Department of Finance news release, belong to Transpetrochart Co. Ltd. US sanctions against it took effect in 2016.

The US Department of Finance claims that in this way the US authorities eliminated what it says was a "sanctions evasion scheme" aimed at "facilitating the illicit transfer of jet fuel to the Russian military in Syria.".