Russian GDP drops 4% in Q2 — 1st full quarter of fighting

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s gross domestic product contracted 4% in the second quarter of this year, the first full quarter since Russia sent troops into Ukraine. The state statistical service reported the drop on Friday. Russia was hit with a wide array of sanctions following its move into Ukraine in late February, including ones that cut off some Russian banks from the SWIFT international transfer system, and a significant exodus of foreign companies. The report by the Rosstat service did not analyze why GDP was lower this year than in the same quarter of 2021. But it said there was a 15.3% drop in wholesale trade and a 9.8% contraction in retail trade. Russia had reported sizable GDP increases for the last four quarters.