Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, responded to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's comments about the easing of Western sanctions against Russia in a post on her Telegram channel.

She quoted Zelensky who complained yesterday that "the pace of European sanctions against Russia is slowing down, and Russia is adapting to the restrictions more and more quickly." Then she added: "Western Europe is falling into recession and lost the habit of survival long ago. Europe is sinking, and Ukraine is dragging it to the bottom."

To recall, Bloomberg announced yesterday that the Eurozone may avoid recession after unexpected GDP growth at the end of 2022, despite double-digit inflation and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Eurostat reported that in the last quarter of last year gross domestic product grew by 0,1%, although economists had estimated a decline of 0,1%.