MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia will need to attract millions of skilled migrants to achieve an economic growth rate of at least 3.2% and sustain its economy, the country’s top banker and longtime ally of President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.

German Gref, CEO of Russia’s largest lender Sberbank, told members of the State Council on Demographic and Family Policy that higher growth could only be achieved by either increasing productivity or expanding the workforce.

“Without economic growth, there will be nothing. We won’t be able to solve social problems, or any others. We must grow at a rate no lower than the global average. That means at least 3.2% annually until 2030,” Gref said.

The country has faced acute labour shortages across multiple sectors since the start of the war in Ukraine, a

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