Russia to respond to new EU sanctions

Russia will respond to the new anti-Russian sanctions introduced by the European Union (EU) against Russian citizens in connection with the incident in the Kerch Strait, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement released on Saturday.

The EU on Friday added eight more Russians to its sanctions list over a stand-off between Russia and Ukraine in the Azov Sea, including senior security service officials and military commanders that the EU accuses of preventing Ukrainian ships from reaching port.

"The pretext for registering our compatriots in the illegitimate EU sanctions lists is strikingly hypocritical and cynical. The issue mainly concerns employees from the border service of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation who are courageously performing their duty to protect the state border of our country. Still, the only ‘guilt’ of our border officers is that they suppressed by resolute actions the rude provocation organized in the Kerch Strait area by Kiev’s authorities on November 25, 2018. The Russian side will not leave unanswered the EU’s unfriendly action," the ministry said in a statement.

The EU imposed travel bans and asset freezes on Russian officials in relation to an incident in the Azov Sea last November, when the Russian navy captured 24 Ukrainian sailors and their vessels in the Kerch Strait, near Crimea.

The ministry noted that the Council’s decision shows disrespect for the right of the Russian Federation to provide the protection of its state border. "It is an irresponsible track that just encourages Kiev toward continuing the policy of provocations which threaten the security of the Russian Federation and other states of the Black Sea region, including the member states of the European Union itself," the Russian Foreign Ministry stated.

The EU’s decision takes the number of people blacklisted by the bloc over the crisis in Ukraine to 170, plus 44 entities.