DISINFO: Western economies are collapsing, Russia’s economic successes surprise investors
SUMMARY
The sanction aggression of the collective West towards Belarus and Russia has failed. A closer economic integration of Belarus and Russia has brought more sustainable economic indicators. The West expected to tear up the Russian economy but in 2022 it only slowed down by 2% of GDP. This success of the Russian economy surprised investors and made them want to return as soon as possible. The reason is an accelerated destruction of the financial and economic situation in the West.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Western sanctions on Russia claiming that they have backfired. The claims about Russia’s economic success and destruction of the economic situation in western countries contradict factual evidence.
Following Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Council has adopted nine packages of sanctions against Russia and Belarus. The sanctions aim at weakening Russia’s ability to finance the war and specifically target the political, military and economic elite responsible for the invasion, the EU Council explains.
It follows from the analysis by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that in 2022 Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP) dropped by at least 2.2% in the best-case scenario and by up to 3.9% in the worst-case scenario.
A recent study from Yale University takes a detailed look into the effects sanctions are having on the Russian economy, concluding that "business retreats and sanctions are catastrophically crippling the Russian economy."
According to the latest European Commission data, growth in the EU and the euro area is estimated at 3.5% for 2022, which is said to be “quite outstanding outturns, proving the remarkable resilience of the EU economy to the headwinds unleashed by Russia's war against Ukraine and in particular the energy crisis”.
Read also related cases : The New York Times reports that Russia is barely affected by sanctions; Sanctions are beneficial to Russia so the West should recognise Crimea as Russian; The EU lost more from sanctions than Russia, European sanctions against Russia do not work.