Russia’s agricultural watchdog says the country is banning imports of Ukrainian fruit and vegetables. It is the latest retaliation by the Kremlin in a trade and sanctions standoff linked to global tensions over Ukraine. CCTV America’s Tom Barton reports.

Follow Tom Barton on Twitter: @TomBartonJourno

Chicken, pork, sausages, peaches, nectarines, lettuce, carrots, celery, cucumbers, cheese and sweets are just a few of the foods on The Kremlin’s already long list of imported foods that Russia now bans.

Let them be banned, says Vladimir Slepak of Russia’s Public Chamber for Food Security.

“Today we have huge state food reserves, huge warehouses that can be filled. The most simple example, the unprecedented harvest of our apples this year. If we speak about Polish apples, they’re covered in pesticide,” Slepak said.

Piotr Shelish of Russia’s Consumers Union estimates that with $16 billion worth of meat, milk, fish, vegetables and fruit in the Russian government’s recent EU food bans, the cost is going to fall on Russians trying to afford their groceries.

Rosselkhoznadzor says that the ban on Ukrainian produce applies to all fruit and vegetable products subject to quarantine regulations.