Having extended the list, Washington expressed solidarity with the EU which recently also extended its anti-Russian sanctions for six months, political analyst Alexei Mararkin told Gazeta.Ru.
In addition, there are two more reasons behind the move, he added.
"First, it is aimed at hurting the Russian defense industry which has proved much stronger than the US expected. This is apparent from the success of the Russian operation in Syria," he explained.
The other purpose is to shut down the channels used to bypass previously imposed sanctions, the analyst underscored.
"Having analyzed the effect of their sanctions, the US found out that in some cases Russian companies have adapted to bypass them. So they tried to boost their effect by adding the subsidiaries of Russian companies to the list," Makarkin said.
The same reason is behind targeting individuals from President Putin’s "close circle" and those who support Russia’s stance on the Ukrainian conflict. Some of the newcomers were initially only on the EU sanctions list, and now the US has filled in the gap, he said.
The extension of anti-Russian sanctions proves that Washington and Brussels have a grudge against Moscow.
"For the West, Ukraine is still a problem, especially with Kiev failing to carry out the Western plan of reform. Instead of pressuring Ukraine, the West is picking a quarrel with Russia," Theodore Karasik, a Gulf-based analyst on geopolitical affairs, told Gazeta.Ru.
According to him, the Kremlin would consider the new sanctions an 'absurd move' while there is risk of escalation in the Middle East. "The US and EU pay more attention to the geopolitical agenda of the past than to the actual problems," he said.
The extended sanctions lists also included two former Ukrainian government officials, Vitaliy Zakharchenko and Dmytro Tabachnyk.
Moscow considered the new round of US Ukraine-related sanctions as a continuation of the unfriendly stance toward Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented.
According to him, such a policy would have a devastating impact on relations between Moscow and Washington. The Russian government will consider the possible counter measures to such an unfriendly act, he added.
