The new sanctions by the United States will not affect Russia’s economy, the country’s Economy Minister Alexey Ulyukaev told journalists on Dec 23.
He said that the sanctions were not sectoral but individual. “This is just a political step requiring a political response,” he said.
According to EADaily, on Dec 22 the U.S. enlarged its sanction list. Now it covers Yandex.Money, VTB24, GenBank and Mosoblbank, 155 subsidiaries of VTB, 9 subsidiaries of Sberbank and some other companies. The Russian President’s Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has qualified this step as unfriendly and illogical and has warned that Russia will take countermeasures.