The Kremlin announced today, Friday, that Russia will impose retaliatory sanctions on Western countries based on reciprocity. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that the sanctions will cause problems for Russia but that their impact can be contained, noting that they have also reduced Moscow's reliance on foreign imports. The Russian spokesperson declined to comment on the duration of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, which led to the sanctions, stating that questions related to Ukrainian civilian casualties should be directed to the military.
Russia has faced extensive and harsh European, American, and British sanctions following its entry into Ukrainian territory. In a speech to the nation on Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that the United States has imposed new economic sanctions on Moscow and has enacted export restrictions to Russia. Biden stated that four additional Russian banks will be added to the sanctions list and that Russia will be deprived of more than half of its imports of advanced technological products, considering that this will impose high costs on the Russian economy, both immediately and in the long term.
The European Union has also imposed sanctions on several senior Russian officials, including Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Alongside Shoigu, the sanctions list includes Putin’s Chief of Staff Anton Vaino, Deputy Prime Ministers Marat Khusnullin and Yurievich Grigorienko, and Minister of Economic Development Maxim Oreshkin. Earlier on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the launch of a military operation in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
