Russia adds countries to food import ban over EU sanctions

RUSSIA has extended its list of countries subject to a food import ban in retaliation for Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said the ban would now apply to Iceland, Liechtenstein, Albania and Montenegro.

He said Ukraine would be added in 2016 if an economic agreement between Kiev and the European Union came into force.

The bulldozing of tonnes of Western-produced cheese and other foodstuffs has angered anti-poverty campaigners.

The country began destroying banned produce earlier this month, steamrollering fruit and burning boxes of bacon. Critics say it should be used to feed the poor and hungry.

The move comes after the EU and US introduced sanctions over Russia’s annexation of Crimea and actions in eastern Ukraine.