The Kremlin on Monday pushed back on a move by the European Union to ban Russians from bringing in vehicles as well as some personal items, calling it racist and prompting at least one ally of President Vladimir Putin to suggest severing all diplomatic ties with the 27-country bloc. 

The European Commission said in an explanatory note to its rules on sanctions imposed on Moscow that Russian nationals were temporarily banned from bringing in everyday items that were purchased or originated in Russia or exported from Russia, including things such as cars, smartphones, laptops, toothpaste, and toilet paper. 

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The ban was issued on Friday, and the note was posted as an update in the "frequently asked questions" section of an EU Commission document titled "Import, Purchase & Transfer of listed goods."

Western countries have imposed harsh sanctions on Russia after Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in 2022. Moscow called the newest sanctions and the confiscation of Russian property a declaration of economic war.

"This is not a policy of sanctions, this is not a question of creating some additional benefits for the sinking economy of the European Union," the state-run TASS news agency quoted foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying on Monday. "This is racism as it is."

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow should “temporarily suspend diplomatic relations with the EU,” adding that the EU “told all Russians” that “you are second-class citizens for us.”

Vladimir Starinsky, the chairman of the Starinsky & Partners Bar Association, suggested that confiscating someone's personal belongings was unlawful.

"A Russian citizen is on the territory of another state, assuming he traveled there not on forged documents but on a legal basis, does not constitute a crime," he said.

Boris Bondarev, a former member of Russia's delegation to the United Nations who resigned in protest of the war, took his disapproval to social media.

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“Is this policy aimed at further restricting Russian citizens from visiting the EU countries including those who flee from the [Russian President Vladimir] Putin regime and threat of war?” Bondarev wrote on X, the social media website formerly known as Twitter.

Since the war began on Feb. 24, 2022, 62,295 people have died, more than 61,000 have been injured, and another 15,000 have been reported missing. About 140,000 buildings have been destroyed, 17 million residents have been displaced, and there has been $411 billion in property damage, according to an updated count by Reuters on Monday.