According to a report from Danish intelligence, Russia is increasingly at risk and incurring significant losses over limited territorial gains more than four years into its invasion of Ukraine. This situation is creating serious pressure on the Russian economy, which is now considered to be on the brink of a “major crisis” according to the Danish Defense Intelligence Service (DDIS).
Since 2022, losses in the Russian military have exceeded 1 million personnel. By summer, Danish intelligence noted that losses had surpassed the number of new recruits.
Context
- In May, Politico cited a senior EU official stating that the Russian economy is in its worst state since the escalation of the war.
- Despite this, Russia continues to increase military spending, planning to allocate a record $202.58 billion to defense by 2027—the largest amount since the invasion began. Amid this rise in military expenditures, Moscow intends to cut funding for social policy, education, healthcare, and several other economic sectors.
- Illegitimate President Vladimir Putin considers rumors about the decline of the Russian economy to be exaggerated. Reports from Ukraine’s intelligence agency suggest that Putin’s inner circle fears informing him of the true state of the economy.
