Russian spokeswoman mocks EU’s Kallas as cartoon character over new sanctions

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has compared EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas to the elderly character Shapoklyak from the Soviet animated film Cheburashka, criticising plans for further sanctions against Russia, Tass reports.

Asked by Komsomolskaya Pravda what was preventing Kallas from recognising that sanctions against Russia were ineffective, Zakharova said: “Shapoklyak lived by the same principle: ‘Those who help people are only wasting their time — you can’t become famous by doing good deeds.’”

Kallas has said the European Union is preparing its “most wide-ranging” package of sanctions against Russia for the autumn.

The EU has continued to expand sanctions against Russia, including additional measures targeting individuals linked to the country’s military-industrial complex.

Moscow has repeatedly criticised Western sanctions, arguing that they are ineffective and damaging to countries imposing them.

By Aghakazim Guliyev