MOSCOW, May 3. /TASS/. The new package of anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the United States has become an act of a trade war that is in full swing, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a briefing.

"This (the US unveiling of its new package of anti-Russian sanctions - TASS) is a trade war that is in full swing for the redistribution of the market, so as to enable the United States of America to maintain its own pace of development. Their lack of appropriate resources pushes them to such aggressive actions," she said.

Zakharova noted that the new sanctions should be viewed as an attempt by the United States to "maintain leadership in the absence of the opportunity to do this legally."

On Wednesday, the US Treasury Department announced a new package of anti-Russian sanctions. The sanctions list included 29 individuals and more than 250 legal entities from several countries. US authorities say that the sanctions target the Russian military-industrial complex and its supply routes. In addition, the US State Department alleged that Russia used chloropicrin against the Ukrainian armed forces. On this basis, the United States imposed sanctions on the radiation, chemical and biological defense troops of the Russian armed forces. Namely, the Research Institute of Applied Acoustics and the 48th Central Research Institute of the Russian Defense Ministry came under the sanctions.