Russian President Vladimir Putin faces an economic nightmare as the country struggles to continue financing its war effort. Ukraine.

Soaring food prices and depleting war resources have left the Kremlin trying to strike a balance between maintaining Ukraine’s war machine and ensuring domestic stability.

Currently, a kilo of potatoes costs at least 73% more than at the start of the year, while the price of butter has increased by more than 30%, according to data released Thursday by the Federal Statistics Service.

Russia had already seen rising food prices before this year as Western sanctions, including restrictions on imports, pushed up the price of basic goods including milk, bread and fish.

Other regions were also affected, with inflation rising by 64%. mortgage rates amounting to more than 28% and interest rate reaching a record high of 21% last month.

Russian Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov has ordered an investigation into the price increases and vowed to provide a response to ease growing public concern.

Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev also took action and demanded daily monitoring of the food market and measures to stabilize the situation.

Additionally, the Kremlin has recently adopted several policies aimed at reducing Russian government spending on injured Russian military personnel, combating inflation, and addressing long-term demographic problems such as low birth rates and shortages of workforce.

The cuts, which will result in a significant reduction in the one-off payment made to those wounded in combat, have sparked the ire of Milbloggers online, with Putin ultimately compromising on the amount of the cut.

At the start of the war, those wounded in action received around £24,000, but this sum will now only apply to the most seriously injured, which Milbloggers say is increasingly difficult for people to recognize. medical authorities.

The Institute for the Study of War said: “Financial incentives have become the key pillar of the Russian army’s recruitment drive and personnel retention efforts over the past three years, and the reversal of These incentives indicate that the system is becoming economically unsustainable for the Kremlin. “.

At the beginning of Ukraine war, the unprecedented levels of sanctions imposed on Ukraine led many to hope that the Russian economy would be crippled, thus forcing them to negotiate peace or withdraw altogether.

This has yet to happen, with the Russian economy proving more sustainable than expected, largely thanks to Russian allies such as China and North Korea.

But as the war enters its third winter year, Western economists harbor real hope that RussiaThe country’s financial woes are beginning to grow to the point where the country’s war effort could soon have tangible consequences.