Western sanctions against Russia have had no effect, according to President Vladimir Putin. “The economic blitzkrieg had no chance of success from the start,” he said Friday at the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg. “We are strong people and can take on any challenge.”
Putin called the sanctions imposed by Western countries over Russia’s attack on Ukraine “insane” and “ill-considered.” He said that the sanctions also hit the EU hard and estimated the damage to Europe at 400 billion dollars (more than 380 billion euros).
In his more than an hour long speech to business representatives, Putin criticized the West in other areas as well. This is how the United States behaves, according to the president, as “God’s messenger on earth”. He also stated that the West wants to colonize other parts of the world.
Unscathed by the economic sanctions, Russia is entering a new world order as a “powerful and modern country,” Putin said. According to him it is “clear” that the rules of that new world order are set by “strong and sovereign states”. In support of this, he reiterated the claim that Russia has hypersonic missiles that no one else has.