Putin claims Western sanctions on Russia have failed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the “war” of Western sanctions on Russia has failed.
Speaking on Monday, Putin said the West “expected to quickly hit [Russia’s] financial and economic situation, provoke market panic, collapse of the banking system and store shortages.”
“The economic shock strategy has failed,” he claimed.
Putin’s statements follow a warning this morning from the mayor of Moscow that more than 200,000 jobs could be “lost” in the Russian capital due to international sanctions.
Putin even said on Russian television that the country had so far resisted “unprecedented pressure” from the West.
He further claimed that the ruble had strengthened since the imposition of sanctions and that Russia had recorded a historic trade surplus of 53 billion euros ($ 58 billion) in the first quarter of 2022, although Putin acknowledged that inflation was rising rapidly in the country.
The biggest losers from the sanctions, he argued, were the US and its European allies, who face higher energy prices as a result of their actions.
However, economists believe that the worst economic impact of Western sanctions against Russia has not yet been seen and expect Russia to plunge into a deep recession later in the year.