MOSCOW
\nRussian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Western countries had scored an own goal by imposing sanctions against Russia over Ukraine which he said had led to a \u201cdeterioration of the economy in the West\u201d.
\nSpeaking on the state of Russia\u2019s domestic economy, Putin said that inflation was stabilising and that retail demand in the country had normalised.
\nWestern countries have imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia\u2019s corporate and financial system since it sent troops into Ukraine on February 24 in what it calls a \u201cspecial military operation\u201d.
\nPutin also said Russia should use its budget to support the economy and liquidity in conditions of contracting lending activity even though the central bank\u2019s rate cuts will make lending cheaper.
\nSpeaking to top government officials by a video-link, he said Russia should speed up the process of using national currencies in foreign trade under the new conditions.
\nMeanwhile, Russia plans to take legal action against the blocking of gold, foreign exchange and assets belonging to Russian citizens, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said on Monday, adding that such a step would need to be painstakingly thought through and legally justified.
\nForeign sanctions have frozen about $300 billion of about $640bn that Russia had in its gold and forex reserves when it launched what it calls its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24.
\nRussian troops on Monday captured the east Ukraine town of Kreminna, local authorities said, as Kyiv\u2019s armed forces launched salvos on Russian forces in the nearby settlement of Rubizhne.
\n\u201cThere was a major attack in the night\u201d from Sunday to Monday in Kreminna, the Lugansk regional governor Sergiy Gaiday said in a statement on social media. \u201cThe Russian army has already entered there, with a huge amount of military hardware … Our defenders have retreated to new positions,\u201d he added.
\nKreminna, with a pre-war population of nearly 20,000 people is around 50 kilometres northeast of Kramatorsk, the region\u2019s administrative centre, and is a strategic target for invading Russian forces.
\nUkraine said on Monday it was stopping civilian convoys out of frontline towns and cities in the east of the country for a second day in a row, claiming Russian forces blocked and shelled ways out.
\n\u201cToday, April 18, there will be no humanitarian corridors. In violation of international humanitarian law, the Russian occupiers have not stopped blocking and shelling humanitarian routes,\u201d Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a statement on social media. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MOSCOW Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Western countries had scored an own goal by imposing sanctions against Russia over Ukraine which he said had led to a \u201cdeterioration of the economy in the West\u201d. Speaking on the state of Russia\u2019s domestic economy, Putin said that inflation was stabilising and that retail demand […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":255862,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[3154,633],"class_list":{"0":"post-255845","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-moscow","9":"tag-vladimir-putin"},"yoast_head":"\n