Russia says sanctions hurting, warns foreign firms not to go

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Ukraine-related sanctions were hurting Russia while one of his ministers said foreign oil and gas companies that quit the country would not be able to return soon.

Putin went further than he had before in acknowledging the impact on the economy of U.S. and European sanctions imposed over Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, although he said the damage was not very serious.