REUTERS
The Kremlin expects that the move will spark a lively discussion in Ukraine and that people's stance toward the targeted officials will change.
The new set of anti-Ukrainian sanctions that Russia imposed recently is about fixing old mistakes as the initial "black list" was "too clumsy and ridiculous," that's according to a head of the Center for Military Law Studies, Oleksandr Musienko.
The expert recalled that earlier, even a number of names of targeted entities and individuals were misspelled in the Kremlin's sanctions orders and that they were "obviously drafted in a rush, even failing to translate everything properly [fro Ukrainian]. And now they decided that this should be fixed," Musienko told Obozrevatel.
In his opinion, such negligence negatively affects the image of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and the Russian government as a whole as it is Medvedev's signature that seals the orders.
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"And now they thought: let's put more names and say that we hit Ukraine again! That is, a delirious and meaningless move. They expect that here in Ukraine, we will actively discuss the idea that those deputies whom we consider pro-Russian are 'in fact' pro-Ukrainian patriots" concluded the expert.
On December 25, Russia expanded the list of sanctions against over 200 Ukrainian individuals and legal entities. According to the document, there are now 567 individuals and 75 legal entities in the sanctions list.