Russia imposes retaliatory embargo on Ukrainian products

Moscow  :  Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday announced a ban on Ukrainian products in retaliation to similar measures Ukraine had adopted in an escalation of tension between the two countries.

The Russian embargo included products manufactured in Ukraine as well as those that reach the Russian market via the neighbouring country, according to an official statement.

"Russia is introducing an import ban on a range of Ukrainian goods," Medvedev tweeted, adding that it was a retaliatory measure to Ukraine's sanctions. 

The banned products included turbines -- except those that are used in civil aviation -- machinery, transformers, chemical products and limestone, among others, Efe news reported.

Moscow also banned the import of wheat, sunflower oil, canned fish, fruit and vegetables, chocolate, bread, pastries, caviar and wine, according to the statement.

The Russian government said it would lift the ban if Ukraine also abolished the embargo it had imposed on certain Russian goods.

Russia had already enforced an import ban on meat, fresh fish, fruit, vegetables, dairy products and salt from Ukraine in January 2016.

Earlier this month, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko banned the import of Russian products after Moscow propped up elections conducted in the self-proclaimed people's republics -- Donetsk and Lugansk -- in eastern Ukraine which are not recognized by the international community.

Tensions between the two countries escalated further during a naval clash that saw Russia seize three Ukrainian vessels and detain two dozen sailors in the Black Sea.