Putin says Russia won't be intimidated over Crimea

Russia's President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with senior military officials at the Defense Ministry's control room in Moscow in Moscow, December 19, 2014. REUTERS/Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti/Kremlin

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will not be intimidated over its actions in Ukraine and Crimea, President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday as his foreign ministry warned that it was preparing to retaliate against fresh Western sanctions.

Both the European Union and United States adopted tighter restrictions on investments in Crimea this week, while Canada rachetted up its own sanctions directed at Moscow.