Russian Deputy Prime Minister Victoria Abramchenko commented on what she described as a misguided policy pursued by the European Union toward Russia. She pointed to the closure of the border with Finland as a concrete example of the EU’s approach and highlighted a downturn in bilateral trade with European partners. The remarks were reported by RIA News.
According to Abramchenko, the border shutdown has created frictions in trade rather than resolving any of the EU’s stated concerns. She noted that Russia’s overall commercial exchanges with Europe have weakened, while trade with Finland has declined markedly, accounting for under one million dollars in recent transactions. She emphasized that this shift in trading patterns will result in fewer opportunities for Russian producers to access European markets, but she acknowledged that the country is prepared to adapt to the changed conditions and to seek alternative routes for its goods.
Abramchenko underscored that Moscow does not anticipate suffering as a direct consequence of the EU’s measures. She argued that, in the long run, the impact on Russia’s economy would be manageable, and that domestic resilience and diversification would help mitigate short-term disruptions at the border. The deputy prime minister framed the current policy as an intentional constraint on Russia rather than a decisive move that could force a fundamental change in Moscow’s economic strategy.
These developments occurred amid the European Council’s recent addition of a twelfth package of sanctions. The package imposes new conditions on European exporters, requiring that contracts for European goods prohibit re-export to Russia or to any other destination for use on Russian territory. The objective, as explained by Brussels, is to prevent goods that have left Europe from re-entering the Russian market, thereby limiting the flow of certain technologies and products that could support broader economic activity on Russian soil.
Josep Borrell, who previously led the European Union’s diplomatic service, remarked on Russia’s economic position, describing the country as an “economic dwarf” relative to the broader EU economy. This characterization was intended to reflect the different scales and capacities of the two regions in the context of global trade and sanction enforcement. In response to the EU’s stance, Vladimir Putin has publicly cited signs of economic strain within the Unión, arguing that the bloc’s policy environment contributes to a broader European slowdown rather than triggering a decisive advantage for Russia.
The exchange of statements reflects a broader pattern in which Moscow and Brussels frame the post-sanctions landscape in contrasting terms. Russia presents itself as capable of weathering external pressure by leveraging domestic resources and building alternative supply chains, while the EU portrays its policy as a targeted attempt to curb disruptive activities and to encourage structural reform. Analysts point to the ongoing realignment of trade routes, the search for new partners, and the potential for substitutions in energy and industrial sectors as key consequences of these policy dynamics. The coming months are expected to reveal how both sides adapt to the evolving sanctions regime and how their rhetoric translates into tangible economic outcomes for their respective economies.