(Finance) – International sanctions against Moscow for its offensive in Ukraine “may” have consequences “negative” in the “medium term” on the national economy: the Russian president admitted it Vladimir Putin during a televised meeting with the government, after however praising the adaptation of the Russia to this new situation. “The sanctions imposed on the Russian economy in the medium term can really have a negative impact on it.” Meanwhile, the Ukrainian army could launch a counter-offensive before the summer, the armed forces of Kiev will attack in different directions also using the German Leopards at the front: the confirmation comes from the Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov in an interview with the Estonian channel Err, after it had circulated in recent weeks the hypothesis of a counterattack close to spring.
The defense minister said he believed “that already this year the world will see very positive changes for Ukraine” and said that the planning of the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian General Staff also depends a lot on the weather conditions: “In spring we have very wet ground. Only tracked vehicles may be used. I think the right time could be around April-May”, Reznikov said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov quoted by Interfax, let it be known that Russia’s hybrid warfare with hostile countries will last a long time.” “This hybrid war that they have unleashed against our country will last for a long time. And here – added Peskov – we need firmness, trust, concentration and unity around the president.
While the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov snubs the US announcement that it intends to support the idea of creating a special court to prosecute Russia for the “crime of aggression”, an idea promoted by the EU. “They have been toying with this tsatskaya for a long time,” Ryabkov said, using a Russian word meaning ‘toy’ or ‘trinket’. “Let them have fun,” added Ryabkov, quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency.
Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelensky has invited Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Kiev: Zelensky himself announced it in an exclusive interview with the AP news agency published online. “We are ready to see it here”, said the Ukrainian president in an interview held on board a train during one of his trips around the country. “I want to talk to him,” he added. I had contact with him before the large-scale war. But during all this year, more than a year, I have had no (contact).”