Kremlin: Unprecedented Sanctions Put Russian Economy in 'Shock'

The Kremlin affirmed, on Thursday, that Russia's economy was experiencing a shock due to sweeping sanctions imposed due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

"Our economy is experiencing a shock impact now and there are negative consequences, they will be minimised," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call.

Peskov described the situation as turbulent, but asserted that the measures were being taken to soften the impact of what it described as an "absolutely unprecedented" economic war being waged against Moscow.

"This is absolutely unprecedented. The economic war that has started against our country has never taken place before. So it is very hard to forecast anything."

The Kremlin has previously affirmed that Russia will retaliate against new sanctions, after the West hit Moscow with a wave of economic punishments over its invasion of Ukraine.

“It goes without saying that retaliatory measures will follow,” Peskov told reporters. “Just how symmetrical or asymmetrical they will depend on the analysis, the restrictions have yet to be analysed.”

On Wednesday, Russia announced a humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine to carry out the evacuation of the civilian population.

The Russian Federation declared a “regime of silence” to provide evacuation corridors from Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Mariupol, along with other towns negotiated with the Ukrainian side.

In a Telegram post, the Armed Forces said: “Russia will request that Ukraine agree on the routes and opening hours of humanitarian corridors and notify representatives of foreign embassies, the UN, the OSCE, and the Red Cross by 02:00 in Kyiv on March 9.”