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Russia hits back on sanctions; bans food from West
Russia  Sanctions Werm
People buy imported fruit at a supermarket in downtown Moscow on Thursday. The Russian government has banned all imports of meat, fish, milk and milk products, and fruit and vegetables from the United States, the European Union, Australia, Canada and Norway, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced Thursday. The move was taken on orders from President Vladimir Putin in response to sanctions imposed on Russia by the West over the crisis in Ukraine. The ban has been introduced for one year. - photo by Associated Press
MOSCOW — Russia banned most food imports from the West on Thursday in retaliation for sanctions over Ukraine, an unexpectedly sweeping move that will cost farmers in North America, Europe and Australia billions of dollars but will also likely lead to empty shelves in Russian cities. The announcement shows that while President Vladimir Putin doesn't appear ready to heed Russian nationalists' calls to send troops into Ukraine, he is prepared to inflict significant damage on his own nation in an economic war with the West. The U.S. and the EU have accused Russia, which annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March, of supplying arms and expertise to a pro-Moscow insurgency in eastern Ukraine, and have sanctioned individuals and companies in Russia in retaliation.
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