A post from earlier this week about the toll Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is taking on Russia’s economy. 🇺🇦💙💛🇺🇦
#Repost @kyivindependent_official with @use.repost_
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Russia’s economy slowed sharply from April-June of 2025 and has entered a phase of “technical stagnation,” German Gref, the head of Russia’s biggest bank, Sberbank, said on Sept. 3.
“The slowdown continues, as we can see from gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates. The second quarter can practically be considered technical stagnation,” Gref said at an economic forum.
“July and August show pretty clear signs that we’re getting close to zero (economic growth).”
The downturn underscores the limits of Russia’s war-fueled expansion, driven by record defense spending but hampered by weak private consumption and shrinking civilian investment.
Russia’s GDP expanded 1.8% in the second quarter, up slightly from 1.4% in the first but far below the 2024 pace. The Central Bank expects growth to slow in the third quarter and approach zero in late 2025.
The International Monetary Fund has already cut its 2025 growth forecast for Russia to 0.9%, down from 4.3% last year — the steepest downgrade among major economies.
Gref also noted the Central Bank’s key interest rate, currently at 18% following two cuts in 2025, and said it would need to drop closer to 12% to create “hope for an economic recovery.”
The economy’s slowdown follows repeated warnings from high-level officials.
Central Bank Chief Elvira Nabiullina said in June that Russia had reached “the edge of capacity,” while Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said the country was “on the verge of a transition to recession.”
The way Sberbank made perfect CGI models of their Cat mascot and gave him voice is awesome!
The mascot exists for a few years now, is incredibly popular among young people (for memes), is present on official VKontakte (social site in Russia) stickers a bunch of times, starred in New Year's special tv episode, and more, but has got this CGI just now - and it is huge upgrade compared with tv episode's model.
Can't wait to see this cutie in more media soon ^-^
The Biden administration is putting $100 million into a new program to provide Ukrainian farmers with vital supplies in order to maintain future harvests and alleviate the global food security crisis that has been exasperated by Russia's war on the country
Russian gas flows via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline are seen restarting on time on Thursday after the completion of scheduled maintenance, two sources familiar with the export plans told Reuters
U.S. President Joe Biden, with flowers in hand, and first lady Jill Biden welcomed Ukraine's first lady, Olena Zelenska, to the White House on Tuesday for a visit ahead of her address to Congress on Wednesday
The European Union is set to add Russia’s biggest bank, Sberbank, and the head of giant zinc and copper firm UMMC to its blacklist of individuals and companies accused of supporting Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine
The mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Sienkevych, said the number of missiles being fired at the southern city on a daily basis far exceeds what its air defenses can deal with
“The Biden administration is putting $100 million into a new program to provide Ukrainian farmers with vital supplies in order to maintain future harvests and alleviate the global food security crisis that has been exasperated by Russia's war on the country.
Some Ukrainian farms have turned into battlefields and farmers who have maintained their harvests have been unable to get machinery and other key supplies including fertilizer, seeds and storage bins that would typically arrive through Black Sea ports. Ukraine — the world's fourth-largest exporter of corn and the fifth-largest exporter of wheat — has also been largely unable to export their agricultural products due to Russia's invasion.
The initiative will also include financing for farmers who are facing rising prices at a time their incomes have been severely hit.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has already been working with more than 8,000 Ukrainian farmers to get the inputs they need to bolster their yields and the new Ukraine Agriculture Resilience Initiative (AGRI-Ukraine) effort will expend those efforts.”-via CNN
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“Russian gas flows via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline are seen restarting on time on Thursday after the completion of scheduled maintenance, two sources familiar with the export plans told Reuters.
The pipeline, which accounts for more than a third of Russian natural gas exports to the European Union, was halted for ten days of annual maintenance on July 11.
The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, told Reuters the pipeline was expected to resume operation on time, but at less than its capacity of some 160 million cubic metres (mcm) per day.”-via Reuters (this article comes with the note “This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine”)
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“U.S. President Joe Biden, with flowers in hand, and first lady Jill Biden welcomed Ukraine's first lady, Olena Zelenska, to the White House on Tuesday for a visit ahead of her address to Congress on Wednesday.
Zelenska, the wife of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, embraced Jill Biden and received the flowers from the president, who met her vehicle outside.
Afterwards, the two women and delegations from both countries sat down for a meeting in the White House Blue Room.
Jill Biden had made a surprise visit to Ukraine, which Russia invaded on Feb. 24, in May, visiting her counterpart and a school that was sheltering displaced Ukrainians.
Zelenskiy later said he expected "significant results" from his wife's meetings in Washington.
Her tasks include increasing U.S. support for Ukraine, obtaining additional support to "protect people from Russian terror" and boosting humanitarian assistance, he said in a late-night video address.”-via Reuters
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“The European Union is set to add Russia’s biggest bank, Sberbank, and the head of giant zinc and copper firm UMMC to its blacklist of individuals and companies accused of supporting Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, according a draft document seen by Reuters.
The new list of 48 officials and nine entities to be blacklisted, prepared by the EU foreign affairs service, also includes leaders of the Night Wolves motorcycle club, actors, politicians, the deputy head of a Russian security service, family members of sanctioned oligarchs and military people.
Adding Sberbank to the blacklist would freeze its assets in the west and completely prevent transactions, with the exception of financial operations for the trade in food and fertiliser, an EU official told Reuters.”-via The Guardian
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“The mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Sienkevych, said the number of missiles being fired at the southern city on a daily basis far exceeds what its air defenses can deal with.
Sienkevych said in a news conference Tuesday that "for several weeks, the city has been shelled every morning."
"Therefore, it is better to leave the city to save (lives)," he added.
Russia has recently resorted to using S-300 missiles — which are normally anti-air weapons — against Mykolaiv.
He said there are 230,000 residents in the city — about half of the pre-war population. Most of those who remain are the elderly, he said.”-via CNN
“You will pay for Putin’s war with taxes, closed borders, poverty, blocked services, and an information vacuum. No war!” Photo courtesy of Ivan Astashin
Former Russian political prisoner Ivan Astashin writes:
A conversation at the post office today:
– Give me, please, a blank delivery confirmation slip for a letter going abroad.
– And where are you going to send it?
– To France.
– You can send…
Кто-нибудь хочет взять Сбербанк в аренду? Можно собрать депозитов под высокий процент и сдать кому-нибудь в субаренду. Anybody wants to rent a #Sberbank? You can collect high percentage deposits and re-rent after. #starayarussa #russia #стараярусса (at Staraya Russa) https://www.instagram.com/p/CEovLR9jjRh/?igshid=1uqovqb8eey8i
