Cash-strapped Vladimir Putin begged for help to shore up Moscow’s war-ravaged economy at a meeting with billionaire oligarchs, according to Russian media.
The dictator reportedly held a closed-door meeting with a team of the country’s leading business magnates on Thursday.
Anonymous sources said Putin discussed military funding and Russia’s advances in Ukraine’s highly contested eastern Donbass region. bell.
RussiaThe illegal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 caused the country’s defense costs to skyrocket, reaching 15.5 trillion rubles (£144 billion) in 2025.
It has left the country on the brink of economic collapse as the war reaches its fifth year, as a desperate Kremlin plows millions into the conflict.
Furthermore, Russian forces have suffered approximately 1.2 million casualties and more than 325,000 killed since February 2022.
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And the renewed attack killed more than 6,000 soldiers borderline According to the Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine, between 17 and 20 March Army.
no major Power That’s about the same number of deaths in any war since World War II.
To soften the blow, Putin has asked Russia’s giants to get a much-needed budget boost.
Sleep mining According to The Bell, billionaire Suleiman Kerimov pledged 100 billion rubles (£922 billion) during the high-risk meeting.
While three sources said metal magnate Oleg Deripaska also agreed to contribute upon request financial Times.
Kremlin mouthpiece Dmitry Peskov strongly denied claims that Putin was soliciting cash.
But he revealed that a businessman wanted to donate a “very large amount” Wealth“For the state and many present, they felt it was their duty to contribute to the elite boom of the 1990s following its launch.
Referring to the faceless donor, Peskov said: “This was absolutely their initiative, not President Putin’s.
“Although, of course, the head of state welcomed such an initiative.”
While Putin struggles to amass wealth, some predict he may experience an economic collapse as soon as next Year.
Speaking on the latest episode of The Sun’s Battle Plans Exposed, Philip Ingram, a former intelligence officer, said: “We are reaching the point of Russian exhaustion.”
Ingram estimates that Russia could face collapse in late 2026 or early 2027.
He said: “Attacks on Russian oil and gas infrastructure, industry, generals inside Moscow, airfields, billions of dollars of Russian military equipment are eroding Russia’s continued ability to support this conflict.
“It’s a happening tipping point – And that tipping point is something that’s likely to come in late 2026 or early 2027.
“Russian exhaustion is coming upon us.
“And then the Russian economy will suddenly realize that the Russian people are in a situation where they cannot continue the suffering that they will begin to feel.”
Ingram said inflation in Russia has been rampant since the conflict began – with the price of even a simple cucumber rising by 425 percent.
Russia is dependent on imported fruits and vegetables, which means that prices are highly sensitive to fluctuations. In some areas, a cucumber now costs £4 – their price has doubled since December.
Sergei Mironov, parliamentary leader of the Just Russia party, said: “This winter, a new ‘delicacy’ has appeared in our stores: cucumbers.
“What should people do? Just accept that they can’t buy the most basic foods?”
One angry shopper, Svetlana, described the prices as “outrageous”.
Russian food prices That’s an 18.6 percent increase in two years, according to the BBC, and as people’s economic suffering increases, Putin could lose support for his attack on Ukraine – or run out of money altogether.
