The petition in defense of sanction products was signed by 150 of thousands of Russians.

The petition against the destruction of products banned in Russia under the terms of the food embargo, has gained more than 150 thousands of signatures.

A petition called “Cancel the decree on the destruction of products, to adopt a law on the free transfer of products and consumer goods to the needy categories of Russian citizens” was published on the website Change.org.

It states that the embargo led to a significant increase in food prices, as a result of which pensioners, large families and others in need began to limit themselves to food. “If you can just eat a product, why destroy it?” The petition says.

“The destruction of products will require additional expenses from the budget, while the distribution of products can be handled by charitable organizations without any burden on the Russian budget,” the petition says.

Russian President Vladimir Putin 29 July signed a decree providing for destruction sanctions products at the border. The decree will come into effect on August 6. The decision to destroy the products will be made by the customs service, Rospotrebnadzor and Rosselkhoznadzor.

Grocery embargo was introduced in 2014 in response to the sanctions imposed by Western countries on Russia in connection with the annexation of the Crimea and the conflict in the Donbas. In June 2015, the duration of the embargo extended for a year - after the extension of Western sanctions.