Car sales in Russia will probably fall 35 percent this year as U.S. and European sanctions over Ukraine and a ruble collapse batter the economy and raise prices, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. The market may shrink to 1.52 million cars this year, Sergei Litvinenko, head of the audit company’s automotive practice, told reporters Monday in Moscow. Under an optimistic forecast, the decline this year may be 25 percent, he said. Russia is heading into a recession for the first time since 2009 amid slowing consumer spending, accelerating inflation and a drop in the price of oil, the country’s biggest export. Penalties imposed by the U.S. and Europe have spurred a sell-off of assets and blocked Russian borrowers from international markets, while the central bank has raised its key rate to stem capital outflows.