WASHINGTON — Russia’s deputy prime minister laughed off sanctions imposed Monday by the United States on 11 top Russian and Ukranian officials, questioning if the list of targets was drawn up by “some prankster.”
President Obama leveled the penalties as punishment for Russia’s role in separating Crimea from Ukraine following a referendum Sunday, leading one US official to claim the new restrictions were “the most extensive sanctions imposed on Russia since the Cold War.”
But at least two of the targets mocked the president’s effort as ineffective and largely meaningless.
Dmitry Rogozin, the deputy Russian prime minister and one of the targets, Tweeted, “Comrade @BarackObama, what should do those who have neither accounts nor property abroad? Or U didn’t think about it?)”
In an earlier message, Rogozin wondered if “some prankster” had gotten hold of the sanctions list issued by the administration.
Sergei Aksenov, the new Crimean prime minister and another target, Tweeted a photo-shopped image of Obama dressed in a Russian military uniform to poke fun at the president.
A third target, Vladislav Surkov, shrugged off the impact.
“It’s a big honor for me. I don’t have accounts abroad. The only things that interest me in the US are Tupac Shakur, Allen Ginsberg and Jackson Pollock. I don’t need a visa to access their work. I lose nothing,” said Surkov, a top aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
No sanctions were imposed on Putin himself.
The targets will have their assets frozen, won’t be able to do businesses with US banks or engage in deals in which currency is converted into dollars, and won’t be able to get visas to travel to the United States.
The administration said that would make it hard to get financing from other foreign entities as well — although officials didn’t provide an estimate of how much in assets was frozen.
“We’re going to stand firm in our unwavering support for Ukraine,” Obama said in a televised statement from the White House.
Not long after the crackdown was announced, Putin signed a decree recognizing Crimea as a “sovereign and independent state.”
Russian markets rallied on word that the sanctions weren’t more broad-based, and Russia reportedly prepared to hit back at US individuals with its own set of penalties.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) blasted the “timidity” of the sanctions, and called for providing military assistance to Ukraine.