Speaking at a press conference during a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, Putin said the attacks also killed sailors, including foreign nationals. He did not specify the time frame or provide further details on the casualties.

"The total damage, according to our preliminary estimates, amounted to quite a lot — about 1 percent of GDP, this is not critical damage for us," Putin said. He added that Russia then responded by saying: "Okay, fine, but then we will also respond to you in kind."

According to the Russian president, Russian strikes on Ukrainian ports have hurt farmers and banks, and Kyiv is losing part of its export revenues. Putin believes this increases the threat of currency, budget, and banking crises. "I'm not saying now that we will collapse the economy, but this is a serious challenge for them," he stressed.

Putin also mentioned Kyiv's proposals for settling the situation, describing them as "exotic in nature." In response to Ukrainian attacks, Russia began striking Ukrainian ports and merchant ships in the Black Sea. Russia's Defense Ministry reported that over the past month and a half, its forces had hit more than 150 "sea vessels used in the interests of the Ukrainian Armed Forces."

In late August, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that only in the Black Sea, 214 ships flying flags of various countries had come under attack. Commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces Robert "Madyar" Brovdi claimed that more than 100 vessels had been struck in the Azov Sea.

As a result of the attacks, Russian grain exports from ports in the Azov-Black Sea basin, through which almost 90% of supplies to foreign markets passed, virtually ceased. At the same time, exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports in August fell to less than 10% of the level at the beginning of the year, said Yevhen Osypov, CEO of Ukrainian agricultural holding Kernel. He warned that due to the export blockade, about 20% of land would not be sown next year.

Against this backdrop, Ukraine, through intermediaries, sent Russia a proposal for a mutual cessation of strikes on civilian objects in the Black Sea, Reuters reported. However, according to the agency, Kyiv received no response to its proposal. Putin, for his part, threatened to completely isolate Ukraine from the Black Sea.