Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phoneMOSCOW, Mar 23 Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany discussed the situation in Ukraine and the course of negotiations with Kiev by telephone, the Kremlin press service reported. Russian and Ukrainian representatives,» they noted.»That's the key to victory.» The turning point of the Russian special operationThe President spoke about the fundamentally important positions for Russia in the negotiation process. On February 24, Russia launched a military operation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine. In response, Western countries announced large-scale sanctions against Moscow, primarily in the banking sector and the supply of high-tech products. Some brands have announced the termination of work in the country. The Kremlin called these measures an economic war, the likes of which have not yet been. The authorities stressed their readiness for such a development of events and assured that they would continue to fulfill social obligations. The Bank of Russia is taking measures to stabilize the situation on the foreign exchange market. As Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said earlier, the government has prepared a plan to counter restrictive measures, which includes about a hundred initiatives. The volume of its funding will amount to about a trillion rubles. President Vladimir Putin signed a decree the day before, expanding the powers of regional authorities in the socio-economic sphere. The document also obliges them to increase social benefits, provide targeted support to citizens, ensure price stability for essential goods, control the situation on the labor market and reduce administrative barriers for private businesses. The President also announced an increase in pensions, a living wage and salaries for state employees.
