+++ Ukraine-Krieg +++: Ukrainischer Ex-Minister Fedorow ruft zu Wahlen im Krieg auf

In response to the increasing costs of the war in Ukraine, Russian donors followed a media report and donated billions into the state's coffers. By mid-August, 383.69 billion rubles (around 3.9 billion euros) in voluntary contributions had flowed into the budget, reported the Russian economic newspaper "Wedomosti". This amount was one and a half times more than for the entire year of 2025, far exceeding expectations.

Most of the funds came after an appeal in March to business leaders, according to the newspaper, citing the Russian Ministry of Finance. Not only large corporations but also individuals, corporate or family foundations could make these voluntary contributions, stated the head of the Russian Industrial and Business Association, Alexander Schochin, to the newspaper.

Each major donor decides independently on the voluntary contribution based on their own financial situation. It is unclear exactly how the money is spent. However, there is a large deficit in the Russian budget due to rising expenses for Putin's ongoing war in Ukraine. According to "Wedomosti", the government could introduce an additional tax for the financial sector in the fall to raise even more money.

To finance the war, Putin had already raised income and value-added taxes. In the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa, at least nine people were injured by Russian attacks. Regional Military Administrator Oleh Kiper wrote on Telegram that the enemy continues to wage terror against the civilian population in the Odessa region. Russian media reported that a prominent Russian war opponent and opposition figure, Lev Schlosberg, was sentenced to eleven years and one month in a penal colony by a Russian court.

The judge found Schlosberg guilty of defaming Russian forces. The sentence, though lower than the prosecutor's request for twelve years and one month, Schlosberg's liberal opposition party, Jabloko, announced that he would appeal. The state-owned Russian Development Bank VEB reportedly fired its chief economist after he made critical remarks about the economic situation and the Ukraine war, according to insiders speaking to Reuters.

Andrej Klepatsch, a prominent economist, had stated in May that Russia was falling behind in the competition with the West and China and was suffering economic damage due to the war. The bank confirmed his dismissal without giving a reason. Klepatsch himself confirmed his departure to Reuters. Klepatsch's comments, published on the Nikitski-Club website, a forum for economists and government officials, only became known in Russian media last week.

"We are falling behind. We are losing technological and economic competition in the world," Klepatsch said. "And we are not losing it only to China and the US. In a certain way, we are losing it even to Ukraine." This is due to Western financial support for Kyiv. "We will not win the competitive race in this suffocating war. We have the illusion that everything will collapse there. It has not collapsed and will not collapse. Our costs are increasing."