The U.S. slapped heavy sanctions on Russia after its Feb. 2022 invasion of Ukraine, including major blocks on the transactions of Russian financial institutions, banning U.S. imports of Russian energy products, and personal sanctions on Russian oligarchs in Putin's inner circle.

Representing 41.1% of the world’s population and 37.3% of its GDP, the bloc aims to counterbalance United States-led Western alliances.

Russia wants the BRICS summit to showcase the rising clout of the non-Western world, but Moscow's partners from China, India, Brazil and the Arab world are urging President Putin to find a way to end the war in Ukraine.