WASHINGTON, August 24. /TASS/. The US authorities are in agony, trying to show their "anti-Russian essence" amid a presidential election campaign, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said, commenting on new US sanctions on Moscow.

"The [US] administration is in agony. The fruitless Russophobic ‘salvos’ are multiplying. The goal here is to show the officialdom’s anti-Russian essence against the backdrop of the boiling election campaign," he said in a statement posted on the embassy’s Telegram channel.

Antonov pointed out that "the negative aspects of US actions are obvious to everyone." "The administration's reckless steps lead to a crisis, but not to something creative. It is obvious that in order to achieve true independence in the economic sphere, it is high time to abandon the hegemony of the dollar in the international monetary and financial system," he noted.

"Economic restrictions are hitting citizens and companies. They are harming not only domestic consumers, but also America's partners in third countries. Washington's hypocrisy is surprising: they are not talking about Russia, but about companies in developing nations," the Russian envoy added.

On Friday, the US Department of the Treasury blacklisted another 400 individuals and entities from Russia and other countries.