Oligarch admits: Ukraine war causes big problems for Russia
Created: 06/29/2022, 14:22
By: Helena Gries
In Russia, oligarch Oleg Deripaska warns that Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine could be a "colossal mistake".
Moscow – At the end of February, Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine.
At the time, the Kremlin expected a quick victory but met surprisingly strong resistance from the Ukrainian defenders.
In the Ukraine war, Russia's progress has stalled four months later.
The fighting is mostly concentrated in eastern Ukraine.
Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, who founded Russian aluminum company Rusal, has now warned that Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine could be a "colossal mistake" for Russia.
He was referring to the sanctions from the West.
Ukraine war: Russian oligarch warns of economic damage from western sanctions
Because of the Ukraine conflict, Russia is criticized worldwide.
World leaders have imposed sanctions on Russian goods and oligarchs in a bid to destroy the country's economy.
Economists have repeatedly warned that the impact of Western sanctions could jeopardize Russia's economy for years, but Moscow dismissed this, arguing that the sanctions would hurt the US economy more than Russia.
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According to Deripaska, however, it is "obvious" that Western sanctions would have more negative effects on Russia than on Europe.
The
Reuters
news agency reports that the oligarch has already been hit by Western sanctions himself .
According to Deripaska, even if Russia wins the war, the sanctions could set back the Russian economy by decades.
"I think that destroying Ukraine would be a colossal mistake, including for us," the Russian oligarch
told reporters in Moscow, according to
Reuters news agency.
Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska says Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine could be a "colossal mistake" for Russia.
(Archive photo) © IMAGO/Donat Sorokin
Ukraine war: Other oligarchs criticize Vladimir Putin's war approach
Some oligarchs and Putin allies have criticized Putin's actions since the start of the Ukraine war.
Deripaska, in a Telegram post back in February, called for peace talks between the two nations to start as soon as possible, adding that "peace is very important".
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Likewise, Oleg Tinkov, founder of Tinkoff Bank, said in an interview with the
New York Times
in May that Russia had “slid into archaism, patronizing and obsequiousness”.
He even hired bodyguards out of concern that speaking out might cost him his life.
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