Western countries have failed to destabilize the country’s economy, according to the Russian president

The Russian economy grew by 3.2% in the first ten months of 2023 and will post 3.5% growth by the end of the year, beyond the levels recorded prior to the conflict in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin said during his address at VTB Bank’s ‘Russia Calling’ Forum on Thursday.

Putin said Western states had aimed to destabilize the Russian economy “to make the Russian people suffer,” with financial sanctions imposed on the country since February 2022. However, these goals “set by our ill-wishers have clearly not been achieved,” the president added.

“There are still things we need to work on, of course… but we have proven that we are capable of tackling the most difficult challenges. The Russian economy is coping,” Putin stated, adding that Moscow expects the country’s GDP to continue expanding and grow by 3.5% by the end of the year.

Putin pointed out that the Russian economy is already the largest in Europe, and is way ahead of all major EU countries in terms of economic growth.