Russia’s economy returned to growth in the second quarter after contracting for the first time since 2023 at the start of the year, official data showed on Wednesday, outperforming government and Central Bank forecasts.
Gross domestic product grew 1.3% in April-June despite Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries that pushed refining volumes to their lowest level in two decades, according to state statistics agency Rosstat. GDP expanded 0.6% in the first half of the year.
The data suggest that government spending on the military and a temporary rise in oil revenues are continuing to support Russia’s wartime economy. But economists said high interest rates, disruption from Ukrainian drone strikes and weakness across civilian industries made a sustained recovery unlikely.
First-half growth was half the pace recorded a year earlier and almost seven times slower than during the wartime economic boom of 2023-24.
In April, after Russia’s economy contracted 0.2% in the first quarter, President Vladimir Putin publicly remanded economic officials over forecasts that had failed to materialize and demanded “concrete measures” to restore growth. He later called for growth to become “substantial” and “sustainable.”
