Kremlin facing £256bn hit after 100 days of sanctions

RUSSIA is on course for its deepest recession since the collapse of the Soviet Union as its economy collapses under the weight of Western sanctions.

Government analysis of the punitive measures also revealed how they have helped cripple Vladimir Putin’s war machine in the 100 days since Britain first sanctioned Moscow.

Russia’s economy faces a £256 billion hit from the sanctions in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine, with its GDP expected to shrink 15 per cent this year.

The measures have wreaked havoc with Moscow’s prized energy and arms exports, and blocked foreign imports. Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, said: “Our sanctions are aimed at disrupting the Russian economy and choking Putin’s war machine.”

Russia’s oil production is also on track to hit an 18-year low. The EU this week agreed to a ban on what is expected to be 90 per cent of Russian oil imports by the end of the year. But despite calls for it to go further, the bloc appears to have reached its political limit.

Kaja Kallas, Estonia’s prime minister, said: “I think that the gas has to be in the seventh package but I’m a realist as well, I don’t think it will be there.”

“In my view, this is the end of the road, especially in the area of sanctions in the field of energy,” added Alexander De Croo, the Belgian prime minister.

Ihor Zhovkva, a Ukrainian presidential aide, criticised the announcement: “Far too slow, far too late and definitely not enough.”

Macky Sall, chairman of the African Union, warned that sanctions on Moscow’s banking system risked making it harder to import Russian grain.