Almost Half of Russians Not Expecting Any Impact From New US Sanctions – Poll

Forty-eight percent of Russian citizens do not expect the new US sanctions to somehow influence Russia any further, whereas 28 percent fear the restrictive measures will bring negative consequences, the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) poll found Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump signed a bill into law that presupposes sweeping sanctions on Russia and other countries. The legislation targets Russian defense, intelligence, mining, shipping and railway industries and restricts dealings with country’s banks and energy companies.

According to the results of the survey, the assessment of opinions concerning the US sanctions on Russia remained relatively unchanged from the results of March's survey. The most recent figures show that 35 percent of respondents think the sanctions positively influence Russia, 26 percent feel the opposite, and 29 percent believe the sanctions have not particularly affected Russian society.

The poll further revealed that public opinion on how Moscow should respond to Washington’s actions is divided. According to the results, 34 percent of respondents do not have a clear answer, 29 percent say that Russia should not react, and 19 percent call for retaliatory measures.

The new US restrictions have prompted criticism from European authorities, who said that the sanctions concerned the European Union's security interests. In July, Berlin and Vienna issued a joint statement condemning the legislation, which they regarded as illegal. Germany and Austria also said that the sanctions target EU companies involved in deliveries of the bloc's energy supply.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday that with the adoption of the law targeting Moscow, Washington declared a fully-fledged trade war on Russia.