Kremlin says Russian economy ready to handle more sanctions

Sanctions have boosted domestic industrial production, officials say.

Russia’s economy has adapted well to Western sanctions and Moscow does not fear the prospect of more such measures, the Kremlin says.

On February 25, 2022, a day after Russia undertook a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the European Union introduced wide-ranging sanctions intended to send a clear signal to Moscow that there would be severe consequences for the war.

The bloc has imposed 11 sanctions packages to date and last week said it would work to shut down loopholes in the existing measures. EU officials have suggested the sanctions could remain in place for years.

“Russia has been living under a sanctions regime for quite a long time, for decades, and we have sufficiently adapted to it, so such time horizons as five to 10 years do not scare us,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.

Russia said sanctions have boosted its domestic economy and industrial production.

Some observers argued that the sanctions have been circumvented and have failed to deter Russia in its war against Ukraine. According to a report by the Norway-based risk consultancy Corisk – which analysed customs data from 12 EU countries, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan – the circumvention of export sanctions on Russia amounted to about 8 billion euros ($8.5bn) in 2022.

Western countries and Kyiv says Moscow is engaged in an unprovoked war of aggression in Ukraine. Moscow accuses Western powers of using Ukraine to try to weaken and undermine Russia’s own security.