Russia war economy

Russia’s war economy faces mounting strain as revenues fall — Bloomberg

Russia’s war-driven economy is facing growing pressure from sanctions and declining revenues, with the impact increasingly felt in regions that previously benefited from soaring military spending, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 27.

27 February, 02:20 PM

Russia eyeing Afghan migrants to ease labor shortage

Russia is negotiating with Afghanistan to recruit labor migrants to address its severe workforce shortage, The Moscow Times reported on Feb. 2, citing Afghanistan’s ambassador to Moscow.

2 February, 08:45 PM

Kremlin sees little chance of breakthrough in peace talks despite budget strain

Kremlin officials see little chance of a breakthrough in peace negotiations with Ukraine despite U.S. and Ukrainian optimism, as Russia scrambles to cover an extra 1.2 trillion rubles ($16 billion) in war-related budget spending for 2026, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 31, citing people familiar with the situation.

31 January, 08:45 PM

Russians start saving on food due to record loan debts

Russians in 2025 began economizing on food due to a range of economic factors, including rising delinquencies on previously taken loans, Ekaterina Lobacheva, head of X5 Retail Group, Russia's largest retailer, said in an interview with business outlet Kommersant on Dec. 22.

23 December 2025, 07:23 PM

Russia’s war economy nears breaking point

Russia’s economy is sliding toward a deep recession and faces the risk of a systemic banking crisis amid falling oil revenues, mounting Western sanctions, and the depletion of financial reserves, The Washington Post reported on Dec. 22, citing economic analysts and official Russian data.

23 December 2025, 08:51 AM

Putin tries to show U.S. Russia's economy is strong enough for long war with Ukraine

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is trying to demonstrate that Russia's economy is supposedly strong enough to wage a long war against Ukraine. He is likely doing this to support the Kremlin's information efforts, which create the impression of Russia's "inevitable victory," according to a report by the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) on Dec. 8.

9 December 2025, 12:01 PM

Russia resumes mass production of Soviet-era armored vehicles — OSINT analyst

Russia has sharply increased production of its BTR-82 armored personnel carriers, effectively reviving large-scale manufacturing of Soviet-style military hardware, open-source intelligence (OSINT) analyst Jompy reported.

1 November 2025, 12:30 PM

Russia’s fuel exports plunge to lowest since 2022 - Bloomberg

Russian fuel exports have fallen sharply due to refinery "outages" and new U.S. sanctions, Bloomberg reported on Oct. 30.

31 October 2025, 11:40 AM

Russia reports third straight quarter of slowing growth

Russia's economy grew by just 0.6% in the third quarter of 2025, marking the third consecutive quarter of slowing growth, The Moscow Times reported on Oct. 30, citing data from Russia's Economy Ministry.

30 October 2025, 01:56 PM

Russia plans 279k migrant workers for 2026

The Russian government intends to bring in more labor migrants from India, China, Malaysia, Bangladesh and African countries in 2026 - quota is planned at 279,000 people, which is 20% higher than this year, The Moscow Times wrote on Oct. 29.

29 October 2025, 02:38 PM

Occupied Donetsk and Luhansk economy effectively destroyed - NRC

More than 3,000 enterprises have completely stopped operating in the temporarily occupied parts of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts, leaving only about 30% of the local population with jobs, the Center for National Resistance (NRC) reported on Oct. 27.

29 October 2025, 10:45 AM

AFU General Staff confirms strike on Saratov oil refinery

Ukrainian Special Operations Forces, in coordination with other military branches, struck Saratov oil refinery overnight, AFU General Staff wrote on Sept. 16.

16 September 2025, 11:47 AM

Russia’s oil, gas revenues fall 36% in August

Russia’s federal budget revenues from oil and gas fell by 36%, or 282 billion rubles ($3.5 billion), in August 2025 compared to July 2025, declining from 787 billion rubles ($9.7 billion) to 505 billion rubles ($6.2 billion), The Moscow Times reported on Sept. 3.

3 September 2025, 04:35 PM

Russia’s war spending set new record despite secrecy

Russia’s military budget expenditures in the first half of 2025 hit a new all-time high — 8.48 trillion rubles ($105.5 billion), The Moscow Times wrote on Aug. 27.

28 August 2025, 12:20 PM

Refinery attacks and India’s reduced intake threaten Kremlin oil income - ISW

Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries are driving gasoline shortages across Russia, likely stoking inflation and wider instability, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote on Aug. 26.

27 August 2025, 10:30 AM

Russian economy is 'overheating' under war pressure - ISW

Russia’s Central Bank is masking long-term instability with short-term fixes, therefore making it vulnerable to Donald Trump’s proposed secondary sanctions, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote on July 17.

18 July 2025, 12:27 PM

EU extends Russia sanctions for six months to January 2026

The EU Council announced the extension of the European Union’s economic sanctions against Russia for another six months, until Jan. 31, 2026, according to news agency Interfax-Ukraine.

30 June 2025, 05:18 PM

Putin publicly admits economic troubles, says defense spending will be cut

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has acknowledged the country’s deepening economic problems and said defense spending would be reduced amid a downturn and warnings of a possible recession, The Telegraph reported on June 27.

29 June 2025, 11:36 AM

Russia’s budget breaks as Trump’s trade war casts a long shadow

Falling oil prices are squeezing the already slowing economy of aggressor state Russia and threatening to cut its military budget, The Wall Street Journal reported on April 20, analyzing the indirect impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war despite no tariffs targeting Moscow.

20 April 2025, 05:40 PM

The Alaska rewind: How history fuels Putin’s latest imperial dreams

It’s been 158 years since Russia sold Alaska to the United States. So how did it happen — and how did this harsh, frozen territory become one of the wealthiest states in the country? More to the point: Why does Vladimir Putin still seem obsessed with the idea of taking it back?

2 April 2025, 11:25 AM

Russia war economy

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