Ukraine war: Putin says West's sanctions fever wrecks European lives || Newbdonline
Ukraine war: Putin says West's sanctions fever wrecks European lives.
According to Vladimir Putin, the Western sanctions imposed as a result of Russia's conflict in Ukraine are a global health epidemic.
He said that Russia was enduring the West's economic "attack" in a speech delivered to an economic summit in Vladivostok.
However, the Russian president cautioned that sanctions were sacrificing Europeans' quality of life while denying food to impoverished nations.
He added that Ukraine's grain was being stolen by Europe from underdeveloped nations.
Russian military had been blockading Ukrainian seaports for months, but when exports started up again at the beginning of August, the Russian leader claimed that only two grain ships had traveled to Africa, which is false. He made comments that Ukraine dismissed as unfounded in regards to his desire to talk about reopening the agreement.
On February 24, Russia began its invasion, and as of right present, about 5% of Ukrainian territory is under their control. It is now facing a Ukrainian counteroffensive in the south and east after being pushed back from territories near Kyiv and the north six months ago.
In response to the war, Western countries imposed sanctions on a significant number of Russian citizens, organizations, and state-run corporations. The Russian government shut down its vital Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline to Germany, alleging technical problems, in response to the European Union's efforts to reduce its dependency on Russian gas and oil.
EU ministers will gather on Friday to discuss how to address the situation caused by rising energy prices. One idea for a ceiling on Russian gas prices was derided as ridiculous by the Russian leader.
Mr. Putin said in front of his audience that the West was attempting to impose its culture on other nations. However, "today we are watching how manufacturing and employment in Europe are closing one after another," he said, adding that many companies had hurried to leave Russia. But with rising prices and businesses finding it difficult to import vital components, Russia is also feeling the pressure.
The EU already forbids direct flights from Russia, and last week its 27 member nations further enraged Moscow by deciding to make it more difficult for Russians to obtain visas. The highly sought-after Schengen visa, which is valid in 22 EU nations, is probably going to cost more as well. The three Baltic states have now taken the agreement further by forbidding Russians from entering from Belarus and Russia, with the exception of truck drivers and those traveling for familial or humanitarian reasons.
Russian citizens must pay an additional €45 for EU visas
President Putin claimed that faith in the dollar, euro, and pound was eroding right before people's eyes in a speech that seemed to be aimed as much at home audiences as it was at Western onlookers. In the meantime, Russia's sovereignty was strengthened as a result of the conflict: "I am confident that we have not lost anything and we will not lose anything."
Dmytro Kuleba, the foreign minister of Ukraine, claimed that Russia was using its energy resources to extort Europe: "Putin wants to destroy the stability and well-being of every home in Europe."
The Russian president added that "no matter how much someone would wish to isolate Russia, this is impossible to achieve" while top Chinese lawmaker Li Zhanshu was present at the meeting. Russian news organizations reported that President Putin and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping would meet in Uzbekistan the next week.
Grain exports had been minimized until a UN-sponsored agreement was reached to end Russia's blockade of three Ukrainian Black Sea ports. Shipments have slowly started up again, and last week a UN-chartered ship carrying 23,000 tonnes arrived in Djibouti.
In order to feed more than 1.5 million people in a nation plagued by drought and civil strife, the grain has already traveled to Ethiopia in 60 lorries.
While many ships traveled to ports in Egypt, other ships departed for Yemen and Sudan.