"The issue is, in fact, very telling. Since it is forbidden to import what the Crimeans produce, the peninsula is cut off investments, technologies and tourists. In other words, everything that concerns the immediate well-being of people living in Crimea… It is clearer than ever, the punishment is not aimed at the Kremlin, but at the Crimeans," Kosachev wrote on Facebook.
Kosachev then questioned the intentions of the European Union toward Crimea and its residents, as it seemed apparent to him that the bloc was going against the democratic and humanitarian ideals of "developed democracies."
"Following such demonstration of the Europeans' true intentions, there is only one question left: have we only now arrived at the situation of such an inverted world where 'developed democracies' are actively fighting against democracy and human rights, or has it always been like this, just not so obvious until now?" Kosachev concluded.
The EU sanctions against Crimea were introduced for the first time in June 2014. The restrictions started off by banning imports of goods without Ukrainian certificates into Europe. What followed was a ban on exports of a significant amount of goods from Europe and a full-fledged ban on investments into Crimea.
