'Come to Russia for turnips': Vladimir Putin mocks western vegetable shortage - video

Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested that the UK and other European countries visit Russia to buy vegetables amid a food security and cost of living crisis. There was a note of schadenfreude in Putin's voice as he cheerfully touted the resilience of Russia's food sector. “Foreign analysts predicted us a depression and a decline in the consumer sector, they promised empty shelves, a massive shortage of goods and the failure of the service sector,” he said.

Speaking to the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Putin said Western countries face the challenges that many believed Russia will face, and suggested European countries look to Russia to meet these challenges. He said: "The turnip is a good product, but they should also probably get turnips from Russia, because our level of harvest, after all, greatly exceeds the figures of our European neighbors."