An enraged Vladimir Putin has denied that his economy has fallen apart as the war with Ukraine is pushing Russia to the brink of collapse.Speaking at Russia's flagship economic forum on Friday, he dismissed Western criticism that his country's economic engine had stalled.He said: 'We, of course, hear criticism from all sides that everything has collapsed... We have descended to the same level at which Eurozone countries have been experiencing growth for the past few years,' adding that Russia was pursuing a 'sovereign' economy.He went on to accuse the West of undermining the global economy and finances with unilateral sanctions. By freezing Russian assets abroad through sanctions, Western nations eroded trust in their own currencies, he said.'The sanctions and blocking of Russia's sovereign reserves have irreversibly impacted the standing of international currencies, the dollar and the euro.'Just like Russia, any other country could lose access to their legitimate assets in dollars or euros, as well as Western financial and payment systems.'Putin added: 'Russia views global changes not only as a threat but also as immense opportunities. And to capitalize on them, we aim to act swiftly and pragmatically.' He claimed that high state debt had helped undermine global trust in Western institutions. An enraged Vladimir Putin has denied that his economy has fallen apart as the war with Ukraine is pushing Russia to the brink of collapse (seen in May) Ukraine struck major St Petersburg oil terminal as Putin's flagship SPIEF economic forum opens in the cityThe Russian leader said the world needed a 'modern, flexible and responsible financial architecture - free from risks, bans and barriers.'Putin played down Russia's economic slowdown and sought to emphasize its macroeconomic stability. He noted that Russia's state debt is a fraction of that in Western countries and its budget deficit is considerably smaller, compared with the West.It comes as Russia's Finance Ministry and its central bank have projected the government's budget deficit widening to a dangerous level if the Kremlin continues at the current rate of defence expenditure, according to Bloomberg. The stark warning came as Putin suffered further setbacks on the frontline, where the tide of the war is increasingly turning in Ukraine's favour.And authorities in Crimea are urging citizens not to panic amid ongoing petrol shortages with pictures showing queues of cars waiting at gas stations.Russian troops have lost territory for the second straight month in a row with analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) showing that Ukraine retook control of more land than it lost to Putin's forces in May.Ukraine's army gained a net 282 square kilometres (109 square miles) over the month, the data showed, as Kyiv hails its improving fortunes on the sprawling battlefields across the south and east of the country.However, it has not stopped the Kremlin's relentless bombardment of its neighbour with a huge overnight barrage of missiles and drones killing at least 11 people, injuring dozens and trapping others. Domestically, cuts have been proposed to defence spending, with officials advising it will be difficult to fix Russia's stretched finances without finding a solution.