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Excerpt from www.express.co.uk
Russian President Vladimir Putin has admitted that his country has “no spare money” as he continues to spend billions financing his war in Ukraine.
As quoted by TASS news agency, a Russian state news outlet, Putin said on Tuesday: “Yes, we have the budget revenues growing, and the deficit is minimal, non-oil and gas revenues have a good performance, oil and gas ones have the incremental growth but there is no spare money.
“Therefore, I very much expect that you will keep a close eye on the financial discipline.”
With Western sanctions leaving Russia economically isolated, Putin has relied on foreign cash reserves to fund his war in Ukraine.
Russia’s National Wealth Fund boasted $143billion of reserves in July 2022, but this is now down to $56 billion as of the end of 2023.
