Zakharova pointed out the outstanding qualities of Kandelaki and Dolina, who have fallen under EU sanctions

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has called singer Larisa Dolina, Deputy Director General of Gazprom-Media Tina Kandelaki and Head of the Russian Presidential Administration's Department for the Development of Information and Communication Technologies Sofia Zakharova outstanding women who have fallen under European Union (EU) sanctions.

"Larisa Dolina, Tina Kandelaki, Sofia Zakharova have fallen under yet another EU sanctions. You know, each of them could represent our planet in their field, so professional and outstanding they are," she wrote on December 16 in her Telegram channel.

Plus everyone: who was hit by the new EU sanctions

And why the approval of another package speaks of Russia's successful resistance to Western pressure

EU foreign ministers earlier in the day gave final approval to the 15th package of sanctions against Russia. They affected 54 individuals, 30 organizations and 52 vessels. In particular, the restrictions against Dolina in Brussels were linked to the fact that she supports the special operation, performs in front of the Russian military and in the cities of Donbass. The singer's director Sergei Pudovkin told Izvestia that, in fact, the restrictions are already in place against all Russians.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in November that the volume of the West's anti-Russian sanctions is unparalleled in history, but they have not dealt Russia "a crushing blow from which it will not be able to recover." The head of state emphasized that the world needs Russia and the decisions of Washington and Brussels will not change that.

Western countries have tightened sanctions pressure on Russia in connection with the special operation to protect Donbass. The decision to launch it was announced on February 24, 2022 after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.