Will the oligarchs pour rubles into the budget for the war with Ukraine? Putin and the secret meeting

Russian leader Vladimir Putin asked the oligarchs for contributions to the budget; this money would stabilize the country's finances in connection with the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported on Friday. As reported, the closed-door meeting was to take place on Thursday evening.

The Bell website reported that Putin talked with leading businessmen about financing the army and continuing the war with the neighboring country, which will last from 2022.

Putin allegedly told the oligarchs that Russia would continue to fight until it captured the remaining areas of Donbas in Ukraine that it had not yet managed to capture.

The Bell also reported that billionaire Suleiman Kerimov pledged during his meeting with Putin to donate 100 billion rubles (about $1.23 billion). Reuters could not immediately verify these reports – Kerimov's office did not answer calls.

Kerimov made a fortune after the collapse of the USSR. The media reminds that he was among the group of oligarchs summoned by Putin to Moscow on the day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine – February 24, 2022.

In the face of a prolonged war Russia is struggling with a double problem: falling budget revenues from the sale of energy raw materials and an economic slowdown that affects tax revenues from other sectors of the economy.

In early March, Reuters obtained information that the Kremlin was preparing for a possible 10 percent reduction in all “non-sensitive” expenses in this year's budget. The final decision on this issue will depend on the increase in oil prices caused by the war between the US and Israel with Iran. (PAP)

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