WASHINGTON, January 25. /TASS/. Restrictions on exports in case of an incursion into Ukraine that the West alleges Russia is planning will involve the defense and aerospace areas, a high-ranking representative from the US administration told a special briefing for journalists on measures of economic containment in connection with Russia’s alleged plans.
"The export control options we're considering alongside our allies and partners, would hit Putin's strategic ambitions to industrialize his economy quite hard, and it would impair areas that are important to him," the official said.
"Whether it's in artificial intelligence or quantum computing, defense or aerospace or other key sectors. Now, that's not an exhaustive list that I just mentioned. All options are very much on the table, and we’re united with allies and partners to decisively impose severe consequences on Russia," he added.
The West and Kiev have recently been spreading allegations about Russia’s potential ‘invasion’ of Ukraine. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeatedly dismissed such rumors as groundless fanning of tensions. He stressed that Russia was of no threat to anyone. At the same time, Peskov pointed to a certain risk of provocations that might be staged to back up such claims and warned that any attempts at handling the crisis in southeastern Ukraine would entail dire consequences.