Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said earlier during the St. Petersburg Economic Forum that the economy is “on the verge of going into a recession.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin said 'all of Ukraine' belonged to Russia in a speech on June 20 at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, amid increasingly bullish official statements about Moscow's final territorial ambitions in Ukraine.

President Vladimir Putin has praised Russia’s economic outlook, saying it has managed to curb inflation and ease its reliance on energy exports.