Russia's Foreign Ministry has angrily reacted to the latest round of U.S. sanctions targeting Russian individuals and entities, calling it another "fruitless" attempt to impose pressure on the country.
"Those in Washington cannot calm down and continue to impose sanctions on our citizens and organizations," the ministry said in a June 12 statement.
"The results will be zero, as usual," the statement said, adding that the sanctions against Russia will not succeed in forcing the country to "change its independent course on the international arena."
The ministry also accused the United States of "creating an enemy in places where they do not exist, instead of seriously fighting against terrorism and other actual threats."
The statement ends with a warning that Russia won't forget that Washington imposed its latest round of sanctions on the eve of the June 12 Russia Day, a major holiday in the country.
The angry comments come after U.S. authorities hit three Russians and five companies with new sanctions, targeting a cyberresearch company and one that specializes in providing underwater diving equipment to Russia's lead security agency, the FSB.
The move, announced by the U.S. Treasury Department on June 11, is the latest effort by Washington to use financial restrictions to target Russians for hacking, human rights violations, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine's east, and other actions.
The three entities "have directly contributed to improving Russia's cyber and underwater capabilities through their work with the FSB and therefore jeopardize the safety and security of the United States and our allies," a statement quoted Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin as saying.
U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia used cyberactivity as part of an effort to meddle in the 2016 presidential election, and the United States has accused Russia of conducting other destructive activity using cybercapabilities.
