Russian President Putin signs sanctions against the West

Russian President Putin signed a decree to apply “special” measures to retaliate against the actions of the West – Photo: TASS

The Tass news agency confirmed that the decree signed by Putin was in response to “unfriendly acts and contrary to international law” by the US and a number of countries and international organizations.

Retaliatory sanctions will remain in place until a decision is made to lift them. The Kremlin has not released a list of individuals and countries subject to retaliation.

According to Reuters news agency, the Government Russia will have 10 days to compile a list of sanctioned foreign individuals and companies, as well as define “additional criteria” for certain transactions that may be restricted.

Russia’s retaliatory sanctions decree will also ban the export of raw and refined Russian-made and mined products to sanctioned individuals and entities.

They are also not allowed to conduct transactions with Russian individuals and companies. The Moscow government allows businesses in this country to unilaterally cancel contracts, without having to fulfill the obligations they have signed with companies on the sanctions list.

Russia is facing repeated waves of Western sanctions after launching a “special military operation” and sending troops into Ukraine on February 24.

These countries initially expected the sanctions would put a strain on the Russian economy, thereby limiting the money to spend on military operations. Hundreds of billions of dollars that Russia has in foreign banks have been frozen following sanctions.

On the contrary, the Russian leadership has adjusted its budget allocation and retaliated by demanding that unfriendly countries pay for Russian gas in rubles if they do not want to be cut off gas.

Moscow has also banned the entry of hundreds of politicians and influencers, including US President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other senior foreign, defense and financial officials.