On Wednesday, Russia warned the West that it was planning a wide response to sanctions that would be rapid and felt in the West’s most sensitive regions.

Russia’s economy is in the grip of its worst crisis since the Soviet Union’s demise in 1991, when the West put devastating sanctions on practically the entire Russian banking and business system in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Russia’s reaction will be swift, thoughtful and sensitive for those it addresses,” Dmitry Birichevsky, director of the foreign ministry’s department for economic cooperation, was reported by the RIA news agency as saying.

In reaction for the invasion, US President Joe Biden ordered an emergency ban on Russian oil and other energy imports on Tuesday.

Russia warned earlier this week that if the United States and the European Union prohibited Russian crude imports, oil prices might skyrocket to more than $300 per barrel.

According to Russia, Europe consumes over 500 million tonnes of oil every year. Russia provides around 30% of it, or 150 million tonnes, as well as 80 million tonnes of petrochemicals.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the “special military operation” is necessary to maintain Russian security after the US expanded NATO’s military alliance to Russia’s borders and supported pro-Western officials in Kiev.

Ukraine vows to be battling for its survival, and the US and its European and Asian allies have criticized Russia’s incursion.

China, the world’s second biggest economy, has urged restraint, but President Xi Jinping has warned that sanctions will impede the global economy.