“The blitzkrieg on the Western economy has failed,” says Vladimir Putin at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum.

Putin described the sanctions imposed by Western countries over Russia’s attack on Ukraine as “crazy” and “ill-thought-out”. He said the sanctions had also hit the European Union hard, and he estimated the damage to Europe at about $400 billion (more than 380 billion euros).

In his more than hour-long speech to business representatives, Putin criticized the West in other regions as well. This is how the United States behaves, according to the president, as “God’s messenger on earth.” He also stated that the West wanted to colonize other parts of the world.

Putin said that Russia, unaffected by economic sanctions, is entering a new world order as a “strong and modern country”. According to him, it is “obvious” that the rules of that new world order were drawn up by “strong and sovereign states”. In support of this, he reiterated the claim that Russia possesses hypersonic missiles that no one else possesses.

The Russian president added that the rise in global inflation is not the result of the “operation” in Ukraine. “We hear everything about the so-called (Putin’s inflation). Our actions to liberate Donbass have nothing to do with this,” Putin said. High inflation is the result of “systematic mistakes by the US administration and the European bureaucracy. Our operation is the lifeblood for them to put everything on us.”

Putin still says that Russia does not block the export of Ukrainian grain. “We did not plant mines in the ports,” she said. The Russian president said if Kyiv removes the mines, Russia will guarantee the safety of exports.