"A few days ago, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine took another unfriendly step towards our country, expanding the list of Russian goods prohibited for import into Ukraine," Medvedev said at a government meeting broadcast live by the TASS news agency.
"Under these conditions, we have to defend our interests and take retaliatory measures: I signed a government decree on this," he said.
The decree published on the Russian government web site bans oil and some oil product exports, as well as imports of a number of Ukrainian goods, primarily engineering, light industry and metalworking products with immediate effect.
From June 1, a restriction would apply to coal, gasoline, diesel fuel and liquefied gases, which can be exported to Ukraine only on the basis of individual permits.
On April 10, Ukraine imposed a ban on imports of some Russian products, including electrical equipment, some car parts, chemicals and glass containers for food and beverages.