Jaroslav Miko: The sooner the Russians get rid of Putin, the better it will be for everybody
On Monday, 10 October, Russia launched drones and guided missiles on Ukraine, the total cost of which was anywhere between USD 400 million and 700 million. At the same time, in the Russian Federation, approximately 17 % of the population is officially below the level of poverty, or roughly 23 million people.
The actual number will be even higher. Old-age pensions are quite low in particular there.
From my travels around Russia I can just add that the view of the cities and especially of the rural areas in the east is genuinely deplorable. Not to mention the state of their highways and roads.
Russia’s total bill for waging this absurd, aggressive war is astronomical, to say nothing of the young people of productive age escaping mobilization as well as the massive brain drain abroad, which is having and will yet have quite a negative impact on the already dying economy of Russia. Putin, therefore, is not just a security threat to Russia itself, to Ukraine, and to the whole world.
Putin is de facto exploiting resources from his country’s mineral resources for his war, thereby directly stealing from his own citizens. The sooner the Russians get rid of Putin, the better it will be for everybody.
