MOSCOW, February 21. /TASS/. The West has begun to wage war against Russia on the economic front but will not achieve anything, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his State of the Nation Address to the Federal Assembly on Tuesday.

"The West has attacked us not merely on the military and information front, but also the economic front. Nevertheless, it has not achieved anything and will not achieve anything," Putin said.

"The initiators of sanctions are only hurting themselves," the Russian leader said. "They provoked price hikes, job losses, plant shutdowns and economic crises in their countries. And they tell their citizens - we hear this - that this is entirely the fault of the Russians," Putin added.

"What means were used against us in this sanctions aggression? Attempts were made to rupture business ties with Russian companies, disconnect the financial system from communication channels to smash our economy, deprive us of access to export markets and to hit revenues. This is also the theft, I cannot say otherwise, of our currency reserves. Attempts to collapse the ruble and trigger devastating inflation," Putin said.