MOSCOW, November 2. /TASS/. Chairman of the State Duma (lower house) Committee on International Affairs Leonid Slutsky called the new package of anti-Russian sanctions, which were put into effect by the decree of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, "meaningless." The restrictions will not affect the decision of Crimean residents to be part of Russia in any way, the official wrote in his Telegram channel on Tuesday.

Earlier, on Tuesday, Zelensky signed a new package of sanctions against Russia into force. In particular, Kiev imposed sanctions against those who were involved in the organization of elections to the Russian State Duma in Crimea and Donbass.

"This is not the first completely meaningless package of restrictions which in no way can affect the historical choice of the Crimean people to reunite with Russia. The Peninsula has been observing Russian laws for eight years and is fully integrated in the Russian legal system. No decrees by the Ukrainian president can change it," Slutsky said. According to him, "it is too late to lock the stable door when the horse has bolted." "But Kiev seems to believe that any means are necessary for political PR," he concluded.

On sanctions against Russia

On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky signed a new package of sanctions against Russia into force. In all, the four executive decrees levied sanctions against 140 private individuals and 50 corporate entities in Russia.

Sanctions approved by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine on October 15 primarily targeted private individuals, who helped to organize elections to the Russian State Duma (lower parliament house) in Crimea with the involvement of people from the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.

Additionally, the list of sanctions includes the Mere discount retail chain and its beneficiaries. Other companies subjected to restrictions include leading players in the Russian cybersecurity market, Group-IB, domain name registrar Reg.Ru, Pre-Trial Detention Center No. 1 in Simferopol, More Shipyard in Feodosia, Crimea, Science and Technology Center Impulse-2 in Sevastopol, Ukrainian air flight companies Khors, Kamus Air and Ukrainian-Mediterranean Airlines (UM Air). Sanctions also targeted Governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhaev, the Night Wolves leader Alexander Zaldostanov and former chairman of the CEC of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Roman Lyagin.

This is not the first package of Ukrainian sanctions in relation to the elections to the State Duma. Earlier, Zelensky put into effect the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine on individual sanctions against participants in the State Duma elections in Crimea, as well as members of the territorial election commissions of the region. In total, there were 95 people. Kiev's restrictive measures imply the blocking of assets, restriction of trade operations, a ban on transportation through the territory of Ukraine, a ban on the withdrawal of capital outside its borders, termination of the fulfillment of economic and financial obligations, a ban on participation in privatization and on the lease of state property.