(Finance) – The sanctions against Russia “are foolish and reckless, their purpose is to crush the economy of the Russian Federation but they have not worked”. The Russian president said so Vladimir Putin, speaking at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum (Spief) also stressing that “the West intentionally undermines international foundations in the name of their geopolitical illusions” but “the era of the unipolar world order is over, despite all attempts to preserve it by any means”.
“The US thinks it is the only center of the world”, he added. The current situation in Europe “will lead to a wave of radicalism and in the future to a change of elite”, says Putin for whom the current purpose of russophobia represents an attempt to isolate and “cancel” a rebellious Russia towards the West.
Putin also said he would consider the Chinese President Xi Jinping as “a friend in every sense” specifying that trade between Russia and China will reach record levels this year.
Meanwhile, the French president Emmanuel Macron declared that Ukraine will never have peace if the ultimate goal of the conflict in the country is to “crush Russia”. In an interview with French TV Bfmtv, filmed by CNN, on his return from Ukraine, Macron said he had heard that “the goal of this war is to crush Russia. And this is where I say you are wrong. If yes do so, a negotiated peace will never be achieved “. Macron added that not even Zelensky has the goal of crushing Russia. “President Zelensky defends his land. And we want to help him do it. Sometimes we have won the war and lost the peace.”
“We greatly appreciate these qualities (by Emmanuel Macron, ed). Despite the basic differences that exist, Macron has consistently followed this path, which even the president approves”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with Izvesti on Fridaya, as reported by Tass.
The numbers of the conflict are dramatic. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (Ohchr) has reported that since the beginning of the Russian invasion they have been killed 4,481 civilians. The injured are instead 5,565. Ukrinform writes it. According to the latest update, the victims include 1,739 men, 1,159 women, 119 girls and 125 boys, as well as 40 children and 1,299 adults whose gender is still unknown. There most of the civilians killed were victims of bombing, missiles and air strikes.