Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the 25th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday, saying that Russia's economy had weathered the Western sanctions imposed after Moscow's "special military operation" in Ukraine.

Putin accused the United States of treating other countries as "colonies", and said gloomy forecasts for the Russian economy had not been fulfilled. 

Putin said that direct losses of the EU from the sanctions will exceed $400 billion in a year, and these costs will fall on the people. He also said inflation in some eurozone countries is already above 20 percent.