The US on November 2 issued a new embargo targeting Russia's energy sector, equipment and hundreds of individuals and organizations. In an interview with Russian television on November 3, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: "This is the continuation of the policy that they call a strategic defeat for us. They will have to wait in vain forever before that happens."

At a press conference the same day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia had learned how to overcome sanctions, according to Reuters.

Since Russia launched its military campaign in Ukraine in February 2022, the West has imposed a series of sanctions and frozen hundreds of billions of dollars in Moscow's assets in an attempt to exert economic pressure. However, those sanctions do not seem to have had the expected effect. Reuters quoted the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast that Russia's growth this year could reach 2.2%, faster than the US and the eurozone.

On the same day, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grushko said that the total loss of the European Union (EU) due to the severance of cooperation with Russia so far is 1,500 billion USD, "according to conservative estimates".

RT quoted the diplomat as saying that total trade between Russia and the EU in 2013 reached $417 billion and could have reached $700 billion this year if not for the Ukraine-related bans. In 2022, total trade between the two sides was only $200 billion and is expected to fall below $100 billion in 2023.

“Next year it will drop further to $50 billion and will be on its way to zero after that,” Grushko said, adding that he saw no signs of Europe reversing its Russia policy in the near future.

The EU has not commented on the figure estimated by the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister.