Russia accuses United States of declaring economic war

The Kremlin accused the United States on Wednesday of declaring an economic war on Russia that was sowing mayhem through energy markets.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov cast the West's sanctions as a hostile act that had roiled global markets and he said it was unclear how far turbulence on global energy markets would go, reports Reuters.

"You see the bacchanalia, the hostile bacchanalia, which the West has sown - and that, of course, makes the situation very difficult and forces us to think seriously," Peskov told reporters.

"We see that the situation on energy markets is developing rather turbulently - and we don't know how far that turbulence will go," Peskov said.

He declined to outline the exact nature of Russia's response.

The West's attempt to cut off Russia - one of the world's biggest exporters of oil, gas and metals - has hit commodity markets and raised the spectre of spiralling inflation across the world

Russian President Vladimir Putin says the "special military operation" is essential to ensure Russian security after the United States enlarged the NATO military alliance to Russia's borders and supported pro-Western leaders in Kyiv.

Ukraine says it is fighting for its existence and the United States, and its European and Asian allies have condemned the Russian invasion.

China, the world's second-largest economy, has called for restraint but its President Xi Jinping has cautioned that sanctions will slow down the world economy.