“The total loss, according to our preliminary calculations, is quite significant – about 1 percent of GDP, but for us, this is not critical damage,” the Kremlin leader explained to journalists.
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He also noted that sailors, including foreigners, allegedly died in the attacks.
“After that, we said: ‘Okay, but then we will respond to you in kind,’” he said.
V. Putin turned his speech to Russian farmers and banks, saying that they are the ones suffering from the strikes by Ukrainian forces. He also added that Kyiv itself does not receive part of the export revenues, which, according to him, increases the threat of currency, budget, and banking crises.
“I am not saying now that we will destroy the economy there, but this is a serious challenge for them,” said the Russian leader.
At the same time, he mentioned Kyiv’s proposals for resolving the situation and repeated a phrase he had already expressed, that they are of an “exotic nature.”
In July this year, the Ukrainian armed forces launched a special operation during which they began attacking commercial ships and Russian ports on the Black and Azov Seas.
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At the end of August, Maria Zakharova, the official spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reported that 214 ships flying various countries’ flags were damaged in the Black Sea alone.
Robert Brovdis, head of the Ukrainian drone forces, stated that more than 100 ships were destroyed in the Azov Sea. As explained, this effectively halted Russian grain exports from the Azov and Black Sea basin ports, through which almost 90 percent of exports reached foreign markets.
Russia’s response was strikes on Ukrainian ports and commercial ships in the Black Sea.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that over the past month and a half, its soldiers allegedly destroyed more than 150 sea vessels used by the Ukrainian armed forces.
Yevhen Osipov, CEO of the Ukrainian agricultural holding “Kernel,” admitted that due to constant attacks, exports from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports in August dropped to less than 10 percent compared to the beginning of the year. He warned that due to the export blockade, about 20 percent of the land will not be sown next year.
Given these circumstances, Ukraine previously made a proposal through intermediaries to Russia to mutually cease strikes on civilian objects in the Black Sea, reported the news agency “Reuters.” However, according to the agency, Kyiv did not receive a response to its proposal. Instead, V. Putin threatened to completely isolate Ukraine from the Black Sea.
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