Russia has hit back at western sanctions for invading Ukraine by imposing export bans on a string of products until the end of 2022.
The ban covers exports of telecoms, medical, vehicle, agricultural, and electrical equipment, as well as some forestry products such as timber.
The economy ministry said further measures could include restricting foreign ships from its ports.
It said: “These measures are a logical response to those imposed on Russia.”
The ministry added that the bans on countries that have “committed unfriendly actions” were “aimed at ensuring uninterrupted functioning of key sectors of the economy”.
The export ban includes more than 200 products. The measures will last until the end of the year.
Western governments have imposed a string of sanctions on Russia, notably on buying oil, and against billionaire oligarchs seen as close to President Vladimir Putin.
About 48 countries will be affected, including the US and in the EU.
The order said that export exemptions can be made for Georgia’s breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and for members of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union.
Russia’s Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said the ban would include exports of goods made by foreign companies operating in Russia. Items include cars, railway carriages, and containers.
It comes as former Russia president Dmitry Medvedev warned that assets owned by western companies that have pulled out of Russia could be nationalised.
Firms have been leaving en masse or halting investment, including industrial and mining giants such as Caterpillar and Rio Tinto, Starbucks, Sony, Unilever and Goldman Sachs.
On Wednesday, Moscow approved legislation that took the first step towards nationalising assets of foreign firms that leave the country.
And in a statement on Thursday Mr Medvedev said: “The Russian government is already working on measures, which include bankruptcy and nationalisation of the property of foreign organisations.
“Foreign companies should understand that returning to our market will be difficult.” He accused foreign investors of creating “panic” for ordinary citizens who could now lose their livelihoods.
According to the most recent figures, Russia is the UK’s nineteenth largest trading partner, with trade between the two nations totalling £15.9bn over a year from the end of September 2020.
After Britain banned Russian-operated ships from its ports last week a retaliatory proposal to restrict foreign ships from entering Russian ports could also come into force.
President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that there would be “negative consequences” for the world’s food markets due to the West’s sanctions because Russia is a major producer of agricultural fertilisers.
“It is clear that at such moments people’s demand for certain groups of goods always increases, but we have no doubt that we will solve all these problems while working in a calm fashion,” he said.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
