Ukraine conflict: Russia's Putin says sanctions triggering global crisis

Russian President Vladimir Putin says Western sanctions against Russia are provoking a global economic crisis.

Speaking during a Thursday meeting on economic issues, Putin said Western nations were driven by oversized political ambitions and Russophobia to introduce sanctions that hurt their own economies and well-being of their citizens.

Putin charged that the sanctions are provoking a global crisis and will lead to grave consequences for the EU and also some of the poorest countries of the world that are already facing the risks of hunger.

He alleged that the Western elites are ready to sacrifice the rest of the world to preserve their global domination.

The Russian leader insisted the Russian economy has successfully withstood the blow from Western sanctions and that Russian companies will fill the niche left by the withdrawal of Western enterprises.