"The actions by the Department of the Treasury in levying new sanctions against RT, Sputnik, and other Russian media organizations has made it impossible for me to continue my work as an outside contributor for RT and Sputnik, as well as participating in interviews and other collaborations with other Russian media," the former US Marine Corps intelligence officer posted on social media.

"I am deeply grateful for the professionalism of all of my Russian colleagues over the past several years, and am proud to have made their acquaintance," Ritter concluded, saying that he regrets "the actions of [the US] government in silencing legitimate journalistic outlets."

"I would also like the government to think about building nuclear power plants in the Russian Far East. This plan should take into account both the current needs as well as the needs we anticipate in future among businesses and our citizens. And, of course, it should take into account the long term," Putin said.

"We see that business ties, trade routes are reorienting to the East and the Global South. Our Far Eastern regions provide direct gateway to these promising and developing markets and allow us to overcome the barriers that some Western elites are trying to impose on the world," the Russian leader said at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).

“In particular, this refers to the Northern Sea route as an international logistics route. We are going to boost its throughput capacity, in particular by exploring the Arctic mineral deposits, reorienting cargos and increasing the transit. We have ambitious plans for developing the Northern Sea route,” said the Russian leader said at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).

“The successful implementation of our plans depends first of all on people, on Russian families… We should not be guided by old logic: ‘First we build plants and factories and only then we will think about those who work in these enterprises.’ Such logic does not function in the modern economy, in the economy of the future that is based around people,” said the Russian president said at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).

"An essential concern is the air fleet. We must build our own aircraft - reliable, high-quality, and [produced] in the quantities we need," Putin emphasized.