DUSHANBE, February 25. /TASS/. Russian authorities have prepared a reciprocal package of sanctions against Western states that imposed restrictions against Russia over the military operation in Ukraine, Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko told journalists Friday.
"As for reciprocal sanctions, they, of course have been prepared. They will not mirror the sanctions against Russia, but we know the West’s weak points well. We have also prepared an entire package, an entire series of potential sanctions to be implemented against the states that declared sanctions against Russia," Matviyenko said.
"The West has a lot of sensitive spots as well," she added.
Considering the constant sanctions threat from the West, Russia managed to prepare for new sanctions well, Matviyenko said.
"The Russian government engaged all safety mechanisms in advance, calculated all threats coming from the sanctions and protection measures for the country," Matviyenko explained.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address on Thursday morning that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories.
When clarifying the developments unfolding, the Russian Defense Ministry reassured that Russian troops are not targeting Ukrainian cities, but are limited to surgically striking and incapacitating Ukrainian military infrastructure. There are no threats whatsoever to the civilian population.