Russia vows strong response to new western sanctions

Russia has said that it will give a strong response to the new sanctions imposed on it by the United States and the European Union, terming the measures as illegal and coercive.

According to local media, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday that Russia "strongly condemns any unlawful, unilateral coercive measures" and will respond to the new western sanctions with "effective and tough" countermeasures.

Also on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia will retaliate based on its national interests.

He said that Moscow is currently reviewing the announced sanctions and will act in a way that best protects the country's strategic priorities.

Peskov also dismissed the claims that a planned meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump in Hungary has been disrupted, saying no specific date for the meeting has ever been set.

The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday announced sanctions on Russia's two largest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil, in a bid to pressure Moscow to agree to an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine.

Trump, on the same day, confirmed he had canceled the meeting with Putin, citing the lack of a productive outcome as the reason.

A day later, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that EU member states had approved their 19th package of sanctions against Russia and would maintain pressure on Moscow.

In response, Putin has said that the new Western sanctions are intended to mount pressure on Russia, but will not significantly impact the country's economic health.

The United States and its allies have imposed multiple rounds of financial and trade sanctions on Russia since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out in February 2022.

Russia vows strong response to new western sanctions

Over 80,000 foreign travelers have entered south China's Hainan Province visa-free since the launch of the island-wide special customs operations in the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP), an increase of 64 percent year on year, according to official data.

Since the special customs operations began on Dec 18, 2025, ports across the province have maintained stable operation, with the number of foreign travelers continuously growing.

Data from the Haikou General Station of Immigration Inspection showed that from Dec 18, 2025 to Friday, ports across Hainan inspected 180,000 foreign nationals entering and exiting the country, an increase of 46.5 percent year on year, accounting for 58.6 percent of the total number of inbound and outbound travelers during the same period.

A total of 80,000 foreign travelers entered under visa-free policies, accounting for 94.2 percent of the total number of foreign tourists entering the country during the period.

Most of the foreign travelers came to China for tourism, who were mainly from Russia, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Kazakhstan, and Singapore.

Hainan sees sharp increase in foreign travelers entering visa-free