The push for tax collection comes as Russia's growth has slowed to a near standstill nearly four years after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In U.S. dollar terms, that “cost” is a staggering $11.9 billion hit to the Russian economy. To put that into perspective, Venezuela is second-placed, taking a much more modest $1.91 billion hit to its already ravaged economy.

After showing strong resilience until second half of 2024, Russia’s sanction-hit economy entered an overheating phase last year, followed by a period of cooling - Anadolu Ajansı

Is Russia's economy really on the verge of collapse? Despite what some Western leaders suggest, the numbers tell a very different story. While Russia is running a growing deficit and dealing with inflation,

Russia’s ruble has outpaced every major currency against the dollar this year, a rally that caught policymakers off guard and threatens to undermine the nation’s wartime economy.

Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin will be forced to enter peace negotiations due to the further exhaustion of the Russian economy. — Ukrinform.

US President Donald Trump said he supports a new package of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine but hopes the measures will not have to be used. "I support it," Trump told US broadcaster Fox News in an interview published on Thursday,

Consider the curious case of the Bella One. Yesterday, after an 18-day pursuit evocative of a sea version of “Smokey and the Bandit,” the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy seized the rusting oil tanker in the North Atlantic that had fled the U.S. naval blockade of Venezuela.

The Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting, a state-backed Russian think tank, said this month the country could face a banking crisis by next October if loan troubles worsen and depositors pull out their funds, according to the Post.

The Russian economy has been dealing with growing headwinds this year: unruly inflation, a ballooning budget deficit – due in part to massive military spending – and shrinking revenues from oil and natural gas. Economic growth has also slowed sharply.

Ukraine’s third-largest city plays an outsize role in Ukraine’s export-oriented economy, which depends on cheap routes to market. Before the war, Odessa’s three deep-sea ports handled roughly 60% of all exports.

Losses from economic crimes in Russia in January–November 2025 amounted to about $4 billion, breaking previous "records" and reducing Russia's investment attractiveness even for so-called "friendly" countries.