“Chip in for the war”: an expert assessed the cost of strikes on Ukraine for Russia

Political expert and serviceman Oleksandr Musiienko said that the war is costing Russia so much that Vladimir Putin has already begun squeezing businesses, since high oil prices will not last much longer, reports Politeka.

He spoke about this on his blog.

As the Financial Times writes, the expert explains, Russia has already accepted that it will not be able to take advantage of the “window of opportunity,” meaning the rise in oil prices due to the war against Iran. They say, he notes, that the war in the Middle East may last another 3–4 weeks, so Putin is no longer counting on long-term growth in oil revenues.

“Therefore, a continuation of the negotiation process is possible, already taking into account Ukrainian positions and our conditions,” Oleksandr Musiienko emphasizes.

The Russian opposition outlet The Bell, the expert notes, writes that Putin gathered business representatives at the suggestion of Igor Sechin, head of Rosneft. In other words, he explains, they came up with nothing better than to shake down businesses so they would chip in for the capture of the Donetsk region, which Putin called the main goal.

“Apparently, to chip in so they can continue to pull the wool over Russians’ eyes and mobilize as many people as possible by promising them million-ruble rewards, with the aim of capturing the Donetsk region. These are the goals they are talking about. And Putin says: ‘Chip in for the war.’ And they have already promised to do so—one representative of big business even said he would provide 100 billion rubles. Now look at the contrast: Russia has supposedly increased spending, but the war consumes so many resources that it is still not enough—it’s like a bottomless pit. As a result, the situation and the macroeconomic forecast for Russia are deteriorating,” Oleksandr Musiienko concludes.

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