Putin Says Russia Faces 30,000 Sanctions, Attacks West at BRICS

Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that Russia has become the world’s biggest sanctions target at the BRICS Business Forum in New Delhi on Friday.

In a subsequent Q&A with Russian journalists, he broadened his attack on the West, blaming Western governments for everything from the war in Ukraine to Europe’s economic and political troubles.

Putin portrayed Western powers as declining “old leaders” trying to preserve their dominance as emerging economies gain influence.

He claimed BRICS countries had generated more than 40% of global GDP over the past five years, compared with 29% for the Group of Seven.

Putin also mocked the bloc of major industrial democracies, referring to the “so-called G7” and adding: “Why it is called ‘great,’ I don’t understand.”

Russia joined what became the G8 in 1997 but was suspended in 2014 after its illegal annexation of Crimea, returning the group to the G7 format.

‘More than 30,000 sanctions’

Putin’s rhetoric became sharper when he turned to Western economic pressure.

He accused Western governments of abandoning the free-market principles they once promoted and using sanctions, secondary sanctions, vessel seizures and other restrictions to regain what he described as their “former leadership.”

“Your Western competitors today are trying by every possible means to restore their former leadership,” Putin said.

He then acknowledged the unprecedented scale of international pressure on Moscow.

“More than 30,000 sanctions have been imposed on Russia,” Putin said, claiming the figure was “almost twice as many as against all the countries of the world combined.”

Western sanctions against Moscow were dramatically expanded after Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, targeting Russia’s finance, energy, technology and military-industrial sectors in an effort to constrain Moscow’s ability to sustain its war.

Putin nevertheless claimed the pressure had made Russia stronger, saying Moscow had “strengthened national sovereignty” and redirected trade toward what he described as “reliable, predictable partners.”

He cited cumulative Russian GDP growth of 10.3% from 2023 through 2025 and unemployment of 2.3% as evidence that sanctions had failed.

Russia’s economy, however, has slowed sharply in 2026, while wartime spending, inflation, labor shortages and Western restrictions continue to place pressure on economic performance.

Rewriting the history of Russia’s invasion

Putin spent a significant portion of his remarks attempting to shift responsibility for Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine onto NATO and Western governments.

He characterized Ukraine’s 2014 EuroMaidan Revolution, which drove pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych from power after months of mass protests, as a Western-orchestrated “bloody coup” designed to pull Ukraine into NATO.

“Ultimately, that became the root cause of today’s tragic events in Ukraine,” Putin claimed.

His account omitted Russia’s subsequent seizure and illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, Moscow’s military intervention in the Donbas and Putin’s decision to launch the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Putin again described Ukraine’s government using the Kremlin’s familiar “neo-Nazi” slur and claimed Western powers had systematically sought to weaken Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

He alleged that Western countries had earlier attempted to “finish off the Russian Federation” by supporting terrorism and separatism in the Caucasus, offering no evidence for the accusation.

“The Western globalist elites are to blame for this,” Putin said of the war, accusing Western governments of shifting responsibility onto Moscow.

The remarks repeated a long-running Kremlin narrative that portrays Russia as the victim of Western aggression while minimizing or omitting Moscow’s own military actions against Ukraine.

Putin blames ‘Western globalists’ for Europe’s problems

Putin widened his attack when asked about recent political gains by the far-right Alternative for Germany.

He initially said he would not comment on Germany’s domestic politics, but then blamed broader developments across Europe on what he repeatedly called “Western globalists.”

“Everything that is happening in Europe today is the result of systemic mistakes by the so-called West – or, more precisely, the globalists of the West – in politics, security and economics,” Putin said.

He claimed Western leaders had become convinced after the Cold War and collapse of the Soviet Union that “everything was permitted to them” and that they were incapable of making mistakes.

Putin also accused European leaders of frightening their populations with what he called an “imaginary threat” from Russia.

“There is no such threat and there never was,” he said. “We do not threaten and are not going to threaten European countries.”

Putin threatens Europe over troops in Ukraine

Despite insisting Moscow posed no danger to Europe, Putin immediately issued another warning over discussions about deploying European forces to Ukraine as part of potential postwar security guarantees.

“Now they are talking about how they might send troops onto Ukrainian territory,” Putin said. “That means war with Russia.”

European countries have discussed a possible troop presence as one element of security guarantees intended to deter Moscow from launching another attack following any future ceasefire or peace agreement.

No such deployment has taken place.

Russia has repeatedly threatened escalation as Ukraine’s Western allies expanded military assistance to Kyiv, while Ukraine has argued that credible security guarantees are necessary to prevent Moscow from using a ceasefire to regroup and resume its aggression.

Putin mocks Europe over energy prices

Turning to economics, Putin mocked European countries over high gas prices and energy difficulties, portraying them as the consequence of Europe’s own decisions to reduce dependence on Russian energy.

Putin claimed European leaders had ignored Moscow’s warnings against shifting away from long-term contracts linked to oil prices toward exchange-based gas pricing.

“We told them: gas is not a classic market commodity,” Putin said. “Your prices will only rise.”

He pointed to gas prices reaching around €1,000 per thousand cubic meters and suggested they could rise further.

Putin also criticized European energy traders, accusing them of prioritizing short-term profits over physical gas reserves and the condition of storage facilities.

He argued that traders could withdraw gas purchased at lower prices rather than maintaining reserves, potentially pushing future prices even higher.

The remarks presented Europe’s energy problems as self-inflicted while omitting Moscow’s use of gas supplies as political leverage and Europe’s accelerated effort to end its reliance on Russian fossil fuels following the invasion of Ukraine.

Putin invokes Helmut Kohl

In a highly selective historical callback, Putin invoked the memory of former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, claiming claiming the longtime German leader firmly believed that Europe’s survival depended on “allied relations with Russia.” 

Putin alleged that today’s European political elite has abandoned this philosophy, instead “frightening their populations with an imaginary threat from Russia.”

However, Putin’s account omitted Kohl’s firm defense of his neighbors’ sovereignty.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on February 5, 1994, Kohl said Russia should have no veto over neighboring states’ choices and rejected Russian “spheres of influence” as incompatible with their independence.

Historical records demonstrate that Kohl himself rejected the idea of serving as a mediator between Moscow and the West.

‘Golden billion’

Putin closed by presenting BRICS as an alternative economic model in which countries could pursue their national interests without rules imposed by what he called the Western “golden billion.”

“The rules governing companies and organizations are not imposed from outside, not imposed on us by the so-called golden billion,” Putin said.

Yet despite repeatedly attacking Western governments throughout his remarks, Putin insisted BRICS was not being built against them.

“We are not building our work against anyone,” Putin said. “We are for ourselves, for our interests.”