"The sanctions against Russia are working" – Borrell
Western sanctions have a sufficient impact on the economic, industrial, and technological potential of the Russian Federation, and statements that they do not work are not true.
Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union, wrote this in his blog.
The politician noted that the Russian economy shrank by 2.1% in 2022.
In particular:
- car production decreased by 48% compared to the same period last year,
- other transport equipment – by 13%,
- production of computers, electronics, and optics – by 8%.
In addition, retail trade in the Russian Federation fell by 10% and wholesale trade by 17%, he informed.
"Within a year, they [sanctions – ed.] have already limited Moscow's options considerably, causing financial strain, cutting the country from key markets, and significantly degrading Russia's industrial and technological capacity," said the top European diplomat.
The politician emphasized that since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, the European Union has already introduced 11 packages of sanctions against Russia.
In addition, the European Union imposed a travel ban and froze the assets of more than 1,500 people and almost 250 organizations from the Russian Federation.
"To stop the war, we need to stay the course," the EU representative believes.
Compared to 2021, in 2022, 58% of total EU imports from Russia have already been stopped.
In addition, the import of energy products decreased by almost 60%, in particular, iron, steel, precious metals and wood fell significantly. For the first quarter of 2023, this figure is more than 75%, while imports of energy goods fell by 80%.
According to Borrell, total EU goods exports were 52% below the annual average before the invasion began in 2022.
At the same time, exports of European dual-purpose goods and advanced technologies, which Russia needs to produce weapons for the war against Ukraine, fell by 78% in 2022 compared to 2019-2021, Borrell emphasized.
According to the estimates of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Russia's total revenues from the sale of oil fell by 27% compared to last year.
For reference:
It should be noted that the contents of the last of the 11 packages of sanctions against Russia were made public by the EU on June 23, 2023.
Previously, ISW stated that international sanctions affect the activities of Russian technology companies, in particular Yandex.
At the same time, Britain declared that it would maintain sanctions against the Russian Federation until Moscow pays compensation to Ukraine.
