Russian President Vladimir Putin says the Trump administration's list of top officials and businesspeople is a "hostile step" that harms relations between Russia and the United States.
Just 12 minutes before the deadline, the administration late on Monday released a long-awaited list of 114 Russian politicians and 96 "oligarchs" who have flourished under Putin, fulfilling a demand by Congress that the U.S. punish Moscow for interfering in the 2016 U.S. election.
The section on political leaders includes the entire Kremlin administration and the Cabinet as well as other top officials.
Speaking at a campaign event in Moscow, Putin, who is running for president at the March election, joked on Tuesday that he felt "slighted" that he himself was not on the list.
Putin described the list as a "hostile step" but said Moscow does not want to make the situation worse and is eager to "develop the relations as much as our American counterparts are willing to."
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