UNITED NATIONS, June 9. /TASS/. The West is losing to Russia from a strategic standpoint, and it lost its leverage on Moscow after imposing sanctions, Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said in an interview for BBC published Thursday.

"I do not think that assessment is right," Nebenzya said, commenting on the host’s statement that Russia has found itself in isolation. "I’m not sure that your attempts to isolate Russia succeeded. I think that the West perhaps made some tactical gains but it is losing strategically."

"One thing that is clear; outcome of those sanctions that the West introduced that you lost practically any leverage on Russia at all," the diplomat underscored.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in response to the aid request from Donbass republics. After that, the US, the EU, the UK and a number of other states imposed sanctions against Russian citizens and companies.