MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a government meeting on economic matters that the West's "economic blitzkrieg" approach against Russia had failed.
According to the Xinhua news, the main negative factor for the Russian economy in recent years has been Western sanctions aimed at "quickly undermining the financial and economic situation in our country, provoking panic in the markets, destroying the banking system, and causing a large-scale shortage of goods in stores."
Russia has resisted this "extraordinary pressure," as the ruble's value has recovered to levels seen in the first half of February, and the current account surplus of the balance of payments hit a new high of more than USD 58 billion in the first quarter of this year, he said.
Meanwhile, Putin acknowledged that consumer prices in Russia had risen 9.4% in the last month and a half, bringing annual inflation to 17.5 percent as of April 8.
The sanctions, on the other hand, have harmed the United States and European countries by increasing inflation and unemployment, undermining economic dynamics, lowering living standards, and devaluing savings, according to Putin.
Russia launches ‘Battle for Donbas’ in Ukraine’s east: Zelensky
EU envoy receives Ukraine's EU membership questionnaire from Zelensky
Zelensky warns world to prepare for Russian nuclear attack on Ukraine