The Foreign Ministry promised a response to new Japanese sanctions against Russia

Japan has set the task of becoming a leader in anti-Russian restrictions, Moscow will not leave unanswered the next, 20th package of sanctions against Russian citizens and companies, says in a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry announced on May 26 administered new sanctions against Russia. The sanctions package has been expanded by another 78 organizations and 17 individuals, their assets will be frozen.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said today that Moscow continues to “monitor the practical implementation of such steps and evaluate their possible impact on national security and the economy.” They called Tokyo’s actions illegitimate, emphasizing that they would not go unanswered.

The agency recorded attempts by the Japanese government to accuse Russia of “nuclear blackmail”. “The desire to ascribe to Russia the missing intentions to use nuclear weapons in connection with the events in Ukraine is nothing more than cynical, unscrupulous speculation. There have been no changes in our approaches to this issue,” the message says.

The Foreign Ministry urged Japan to show “similar concerns” about US nuclear weapons already stationed in Europe.

The new sanctions were extended, among other things, to the Russian journalist Olga Skabeeva, to the chief of staff of the Russian group of forces “West” Lieutenant General Mikhail Zusko, commander of the Russian Airborne Forces Mikhail Teplinsky and other command representatives. Sanctions also affected Yan Novikov, CEO of the Almaz-Antey aerospace defense concern. Sending payments to these individuals and dealing with their capital should now be subject to a “permit system”. Restrictions were also imposed on 7 people – officials and prosecutors of the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.

In addition, 80 organizations were subject to an export ban. The list included the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSVTS), the Advanced Research Foundation, KAMAZ, Megaphonefund “Skolkovoand the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech). The ban also includes the export of goods that can “contribute to strengthening the industrial base of Russia” and the provision of architectural and engineering services in Russia.

The fact that Japan will expand sanctions against Russia became known on May 20. Tokyo announced them at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, which started on May 19.