Russian to the shops: Putin bans imports from US and EU
Russian president Vladimir Putin today imposed restrictions upon EU and US products in response to sanctions placed upon the country last week as a result of its involvement in the Ukraine conflict.
Putin's economy will struggle with the sanctions
No nations were directly mentioned in the decree published today, which has demanded government departments create a list of banned food and agricultural products.
This move will bite back at EU and US sanctions as Russia buys £2bn worth of fruit and vegetables from the EU.
The decree, which was implemented "in order to protect the national interests of the Russian Federation", will ban "selected agricultural products, raw materials and food, [from] the countries that have decided to impose economic sanctions against Russia."
Last week Polish products were banned on the grounds of ‘public health’ concerns however the Russians are reportedly unhappy with Poland over their support of the Ukraine.
Russia received its first sanctions after the annexation of Crimea in March. These increased in severity after Russia’s involvement in the Ukrainian conflict became apparent.
This comes after a Russian soldier’s Instagram account geo-tagged him in Ukrainian territory last week.