Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree setting the stage for "special economic measures" in response to what the document calls Ukraine's "unfriendly actions" against Russian citizens and companies.
In the decree signed and posted on the Kremlin website on October 22, Putin instructs the government to draft a list of Ukrainian firms and individuals to be targeted for economic sanctions.
The decree also orders the government to outline the sanctions and says it can be cancelled if Ukraine lifts all restrictions it has imposed against Russian citizens and companies.
Like the United States and the European Union, Kyiv has imposed sanctions on Russian tycoons, companies, and other entities in response to Moscow's seizure of the Crimean Peninsula in March 2014 and its support for armed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
In June, Putin signed a law on countermeasures against the United States and other countries that have sanctions against Russia.
