MOSCOW, July 17 (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday new Western sanctions on Moscow over its role in the Ukraine crisis were "evil" and that such measures could never bring anyone to their knees.

Medvedev told a government meeting moves by the United States and the European Union would not help Ukraine and would fuel anti-U.S. sentiment in Russia. He added that Moscow should now pay more attention to defence spending.

(Reporting by Katya Golubkova, Writing by Gabriela Baczynska, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

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