The EU's decision to impose sanctions against Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky is vile and cowardly, driven in part by his efforts to restore the memory of the Great Patriotic War, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a briefing. "The fact that we are gathered here now, in Rzhev, at the foot of the soldier's monument, is a colossal achievement. "Now Vladimir Medinsky has been placed under EU sanctions. "Just because Vladimir Medinsky participated in peace talks, he has now been put on sanctions lists. But I believe he was blacklisted not for that, of course, but for the colossal historical work he has been conducting."