Live Conflict Ukraine-Russia War

[Spitfire9]

Russia’s Finance Ministry on Wednesday proposed raising the country’s value-added tax (VAT) from 20% to 22% starting next year, as part of a new three-year budget plan aimed at covering surging defense and security spending.

The increase would generate an estimated 1.3 trillion rubles ($15.5 billion) in revenues annually, according to the business newspaper Kommersant, which published, then later deleted, a Finance Ministry forecast showing Russia’s GDP growth slowing to 1% this year, down from an earlier 2.5% estimate. For 2026, policymakers now anticipate economic growth of just 0.5%, far below previous projections of 3%.

Russia’s Finance Ministry is seeking to reassure consumers, who are likely to feel the strain of a VAT increase in the short term, that the impact on prices will be “moderate and limited.” In a statement on Wednesday, the ministry said a reduced 10% VAT rate will remain in place for essential goods like bread, dairy, meat, medicines and children’s products.

The proposed tax hike comes as the federal budget deficit reached 4.88 trillion rubles ($61.1 billion) between January and July, already exceeding the government’s full-year target. Weaker global oil prices, a stronger ruble and high interest rates have sapped growth this year, forcing the government to find ways to make up for the lost revenues.

Russia Moves to Raise VAT by 2% as Budget Deficit Swells - The Moscow Times

Russia’s Finance Ministry on Wednesday proposed raising the country’s value-added tax (VAT) from 20% to 22% starting next year, as part of a new three-year budget plan aimed at covering surging defense and security spending.

www.themoscowtimes.com

Make of this what you will. I see Russia's economy and government finances sliding further in 2026. How much longer can it afford to finance a now senseless war? To me it became senseless early in 2022 when it became apparent that Russia could not take Kyiv in a few days or weeks, so overthrowing the Ukrainian government.

 

[Relic]

Ukrainian President Zelensky has confirmed that Ukraine has received a Patriot Battery from Israel and that the system is currently operational and has been for approximately 1 month. Zelensky also noted that Ukraine will receive 2 additional Patriot Batteries this fall, from a collaboration of countries including USA , Germany , Norway , Greece and The Netherlands all contributing components or funding towards the purchase of components.

Ukraine received Patriot system from Israel | Euractiv

The Patriot system provides long-range interception of both ballistic and cruise missiles

www.euractiv.com

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After this fall's deliveries Ukraine will operate 10 Patriot Batteries, with the majority being used to defend Ukraine's big cities and key military infrastructure such as aerodromes.

 

[Relic]

With Donald Trump frustrated with Putin's unwillingness to cave on his maximalist demands, Zelensky announced today that that Ukraine has requested $90 Billion usd in arms from USA. The Pentagon is expected to look at the list and approve items that they are willing to sell Ukraine and Ukraine's backers. The list is said to be exhaustive, including everything from air defense systems, weapons for Ukraine's F-16s, aerial munitions, multi-variant drones, armored vehicles, artillery, anti-armor weapons, etc.

While Ukraine certainly won't receive everything on their wish list, $90 Billion usd worth of purely weapons is an enormous quantity. I'll be curious to see how quickly Ukraine can raise funding for purchases from the list from it's 30+ financial backers.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy says he has provided Trump with list of requested weapons worth $90B

Israeli Patriot system has been in use in Ukraine for a month and Kyiv will receive 2 more new systems in fall, say Zelenskyy - Anadolu Ajansı

www.aa.com.tr

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[Spitfire9]

For those with short memories...

Russian Rhetoric Ahead of Attack Against Ukraine: Deny, Deflect, Mislead - FactCheck.org

As Russia amassed troops on the Ukrainian border, Russian leaders repeatedly denied that their country had plans to invade Ukraine. They blamed the U.S., Ukraine and others for the tension, insisting that Russia is a "peaceful country" and that it is "not going to attack anyone." Here we round...

www.factcheck.org

Why should observers believe there is any truth in what Russia says?

 

[Woland]

I see we're having a discussion about Russia's economy. Although Russia's own figures are notoriously unreliable, there are still some good indicators we can use.

• Russia’s own Economy Minister admitted that Russia’s economy is “on the brink of going into a recession”
• If current trends continue, Russia’s national wealth fund will be depleted in 2026
• Russia’s 2026 budget decreases military spending by 6.7%
• Putin has been forced to raise taxes on ordinary Russians — twice already in 2025
• Loss of over 2 million working-age adults due to immigration and war casualties
• Skyrocketing inflation on staples such as food. Households spent 35% of all income on food in April 2025, up from 29% last April.
• In Q1 of 2025, 16.1% of consumer loans in Russia were delinquent
• Interest rate of 17%
• Ukrainian drone attacks are increasingly causing gas shortages across Russia
  • Roughly 20% of Russia’s refining capacity is believed to be incapacitated. Replacing critical components is difficult and slow due to sanctions
  • Useful data point: on 9/25/25, in Crimea, 50% of gas stations stopped selling gas. Across all Southern Russia - 14%.

 

[contricusc]

Tonight, Moldova voted in parliamentary elections. After about half of the voting sections were counted, Maia Sandu’s pro-EU party (PAS) is leading with 43% of votes, while the pro-Russian alliance (Blocul Patriotic) is second with 29%.

It seems that the election will be a great win for the pro-EU president, and Moldova will continue its European trajectory and move away from Russia for good.