Vladimir Putin has said Ukraine's drone attacks against its oil refineries and infrastructure is affecting the economy. The Russian leader spoke earlier today at the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects in Moscow.
While saying that statistical data indicate "modest overall" but "positive" economic performance, he admitted that Ukraine's recent attacks on Russia's oil depots and logistics facilities have caused problems.
Putin's admission on economic impact
He said: "Clearly, the pace of economic activity is being affected by a range of factors, including external pressure as well as terrorist attacks on industrial and infrastructure facilities. Naturally, such attacks have not – and could not – result in critical consequences. Yet, they do cause us harm – this is obvious, and we fully recognise and understand it."
After months of drone attacks on oil depots and refineries, in recent weeks, Ukraine has sustained an intense strike campaign against Russia's largest e-commerce platform Wildberries. It is targeting its warehouses used by Russians to buy military equipment.
Impact on Russian sellers and bank withdrawals
It has also frustrated hundreds of Russian sellers who depend on online marketplaces for their livelihoods, making the war feel closer to home after almost four and a half years.
"I am a mother of a disabled child, I've built the business myself," one woman complained on an expletive-laden social media post that went viral. "I've lost 1m roubles (£9,500; $12,700)... We're already getting screwed over from every direction as it is."
Meanwhile, fearing that the Kremlin could begin to seize money to finance the war with Ukraine, The Washington Post reported that Russians are withdrawing billions from the nation's banks. Nearly 286.4bn rubles (worth $3.4bn) was withdrawn in the first two weeks of August, according to data from the Russian Central Bank, reported in The Post. That follows $7.3bn withdrawn last month and more than $4.5bn in June.
