'Wonderful' sanctions on Russia won't change a thing, military operation in Ukraine to go on: Dmitry Medvedev

The former Russian PM said the operation will be fully carried out until the goals set by President Putin are achieved

Former Russia PM and Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev. File | Photo Credit: AP

The "wonderful" sanctions slapped on Russia by the US and allies would not change a thing and military operation to "protect" Ukraine's Donbass region will be fully carried out until President Vladimir Putin's goals are achieved, Deputy Head of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said on Saturday, as Russian forces intensified its attack in Ukrainian capital Kyiv and other areas.

The US and its allies announced a slew of sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine on Thursday. They have decided to block assets of four large Russian banks, impose export controls and sanction oligarchs close to Mr Putin.

“These wonderful restrictions definitely won’t change a thing. It’s clear even to the ignorant people at the US Department of State. This refers to the decision to carry out a military operation to protect Donbass,” Mr Medvedev, a former Russian prime minister, was quoted as saying by the state-run TASS news agency, citing Russian online social media networking service VKontakte.

“The operation will be fully carried out until the goals set by the Russian President are achieved,” he said, hoping that the situation will unfold "the way it did in 2008.

Russia-Ukraine crisis updates | Feb 26, 2022

Russia invaded Georgia in 2008 and the war lasted for five days. Following the brief war, Russia recognised Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Mr Medvedev, who was the country's prime minister from 2012 to 2020, termed the sanctions as a "myth".

“All reasonable people realise that sanctions are just a myth, a sham and a figure of speech,” he was quoted as saying by the news agency.

He stressed that the true cause for the sanctions was “the political impotence rooted in an inability to change Russia’s policies and a hope to make up excuses for shameful decisions such as the cowardly escape from Afghanistan.”

President Putin on February 24 signed treaties with leaders of Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), territories in Donbass occupied by separatist forces, on February 21, recognising the two regions of Ukraine as independent.

The Russian forces have since intensified its attack in Ukrainian capital Kyiv and other areas by targeting military infrastructure and other major facilities.