MOSCOW, March 9. /TASS/. The Western sanctions against Russia were well-expected and the Russian authorities began to get ready for them beforehand, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media on Wednesday.

"The sanctions were well-expected. Various sets of sanctions were thoroughly analyzed and considered," Peskov said. Alongside this "preparations were launched for minimizing the effects of various sanction packages."

Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24 launched a special military operation in Ukraine following the Donbass republics’ plea for help. The United States, the European Union, Britain and other countries imposed sanctions on a number of Russian individuals and legal entities.

In this context, the Russian authorities took a number of decisions, including special economic countermeasures in retaliation for unfriendly actions by the United States and other countries and international organizations, as well as temporary economic measures to maintain Russia’s financial stability.

Also, the Russian government said that it would extend assistance to companies under sanctions to help them preserve jobs and wages. Also, certain steps were made to protect the financial markets and major Russian companies from restrictions and other threats. The Cabinet of Ministers said Russia had sufficient resources to keep its financial system stable amid sanctions and external threats.