Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's demand for an international travel ban on all Russians has triggered heavy criticism in Moscow.
Zelensky's appeal was received "extremely negatively," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, according to the Interfax agency.
"The irrationality of the thought process exceeds every measure," he said.
Zelensky told the Washington Post in an interview published on Monday that "the most important sanctions are to close the borders — because the Russians are taking away someone else's land."
In the European Union, there are discussions about making the issuing of tourist visas to Russians more difficult, or completely stopping the process altogether.
The Baltic states, for example, only issue visas to Russian citizens in exceptional cases. Finland is also considering tightening its regulations.
In reply to Zelensky's travel sanctions suggestion, Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday called him "the greatest Ukrainian clown" on Twitter - and even compared him to Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.
Since the start of Russia's invasion, Medvedev has repeatedly hurled insults at Ukraine, a country he recently suggested may soon not even "exist on the world map."
Moscow frequently justifies its war by saying it is carrying out the the "de-Nazification" of Ukraine, a phrase that causes particular outrage because Zelensky is of Jewish descent.
Peskov also said on Tuesday that efforts to "punish" Russia are futile, making clear reference to the Western sanctions on the nation, according to local media.
European countries that support Ukraine will sooner or later begin to wonder whether President Volodymyr Zelensky is doing things correctly, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, as quoted by state-run news agency TASS.
Targeting the European countries that have slapped a series of sanctions on Moscow since Russia launched its war on Ukraine on Feb. 24, he said: "The countries themselves are paying the bill, and the citizens are paying the bill."
"And sooner or later these countries will also begin to wonder, 'Is Zelensky doing everything right, why do our citizens have to pay for his whims?' So the Ukrainian side should be aware of this," Peskov said in response to Zelensky's interview with The Washington Post urging a ban on Russian tourism in Western countries.
The EU has slapped six sets of sanctions against Moscow since the beginning of Russia's war on Ukraine on Feb. 24.
The packages target, among others, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and include a ban on oil and coal imports and exports of luxury goods. Also, they exclude Russian and Belarusian banks from using the international SWIFT system.
At least 5,401 civilians have been killed and 7,466 injured since the war began on Feb. 24, according to UN estimates. The true toll is believed to be much higher.
