Kremlin says Russia ready to endure more Western sanctions

Russia’s economy has adapted well to years of Western sanctions and so it does not fear the prospect of more such measures, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.

The European Union, which has imposed 11 sanctions packages against Russia since Moscow sent its armed forces into Ukraine in February 2022, said last week it was trying to shut loopholes in existing sanctions, while Poland has proposed further measures.

EU officials have also suggested the sanctions could remain in place for years after the conflict in Ukraine ends.

Asked about such a prospect, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “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.”

“As for new packages, yes, they are being prepared, this is quite well known and predictable … We can only wait to see what else our opponents will come up with,” he said in a regular call with reporters.

Russia argues that the sanctions have helped to boost domestic industrial production and says they will never deter it from pursuing what it sees as its vital national interests in Ukraine.

Moscow accuses Western powers of using Ukraine to attempt to weaken and undermine Russia’s own security. Western countries and Kyiv say this is nonsense and that Moscow is engaged in an unprovoked war of aggression and a land grab in Ukraine.