Russia’s economy survived 2022 thanks to EU, analyst says

This was stated on Espreso TV by Illya Neshodovskyi, head of the analytical department of the ANTS network.

"In 2022, the European Union became the biggest savior of the Russian economy. The EU was very careless in imposing sanctions against Russia. In mid-summer 2022, the EU announced that it would impose sanctions in December. As a result, oil and gas prices skyrocketed to $110 per barrel — the highest figure in history. Russia was thus able to compensate for frozen assets and earned over $270 billion. This was the main lifeline at that moment, allowing Russia to fill its national welfare fund and support the budget. Gazprom transferred one trillion rubles every month to support the Russian budget," Neshodovskyi explained.

The analyst noted that the Russian economy did not collapse purely by chance.

"They managed to prevent the Russian budget from collapsing. We can also consider the impact of money printing, which was significant in 2022-2023. Therefore, we cannot say that Nabiullina [Chairman of Russia’s Central Bank] saved the Russian budget. Rather, circumstances aligned in a way that the Russian economy has not yet collapsed," he concluded.

• The leaders of Germany, France, Poland, Italy, and the United Kingdom, together with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, prepared a joint statement after Donald Trump's meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
• EU leaders confirmed their determination to continue supporting Ukraine, strengthen sanctions against Russia, and put pressure on its military economy until a just and lasting peace is achieved.