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The European Commission believes that EU sanctions against Russia are effective.

by AI | 12.May 2024 | Europe in brief AI

European Union sanctions imposed on Russia are working: Vladimir Putin did not achieve any of the goals he set for himself when he started aggression against Ukraine – declared on […]

EFE/EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET

European Union sanctions imposed on Russia are working: Vladimir Putin did not achieve any of the goals he set for himself when he started aggression against Ukraine – declared on Wednesday the spokesman for the European Commission Peter Stano at a press conference in Brussels.

Since the beginning of the aggression against Ukraine, the European Union has imposed 13 packages of sanctions on Russia. These include economic restrictions aimed at curbing further aggression.

The list of products subject to sanctions include, among others: petroleum and petroleum products (from February 2023), coal, steel, iron products, gold and diamonds, cement, asphalt, timber, paper, or synthetic rubber.

However, some media indicate the unusual resilience of the Russian economy to Western retaliation. In April, the International Monetary Fund raised its forecast for Russia’s economic growth in 2024 from 2.6% to 3.2%. According to the IMF, this is partly due to the persistently high revenues from oil exports, high global oil prices, and significant government spending in the defense sector.

Asked on Wednesday about this issue, Stano responded that Russia has completely switched its economy to wartime mode. “Whatever this economic growth is, whatever these investments are, we are talking about the military industry or the defense industry,” he emphasized.

He added that the goal of EU sanctions is not to paralyze the Russian economy, but to make it more difficult for Putin to wage an aggressive war against Ukraine.

“Although sanctions are medium- and long-term measures, (which means that) they show their full effectiveness in the medium and long term, (now) we can say that they are working, because Putin did not achieve any of the goals he set for himself, starting the aggression against Ukraine,” he emphasized.

In this context, he reminded that Putin’s declared goal was to take Kyiv in three days, which he failed to do.

At the same time, he noted that sanctions are severe for the Russian economy, which “has lost much, (including) the chance for modernization, and is focused on maintaining the war effort and expenditures that are necessary (for the Russian budget – PAP),” Stano said.

Also in April, the Russian Ministry of Economy raised its forecasts for the growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024 – from 2.3 to 2.8 percent.

(08.05.2024)