{
  "id": 1552297,
  "title": "State corporation VEB fires chief economist Andrei Klepach after he warned Russia could lose war of attrition, The Bell reports",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/17/state-corporation-veb-fires-chief-economist-andrei-klepach-after-he",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-17T19:46:13.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Insider",
    "slug": "the-insider",
    "url": "https://theins.press/en/news/296131"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Russian state corporation VEB has dismissed its chief economist Andrei Klepach after he warned in a May speech that Russia is losing the global economic and technological competition and cannot win a \"war of attrition\" with Ukraine. According to The Bell, an independent outlet that cited two people familiar with Klepach, the dismissal occurred on Sunday, August 16. The decision was reportedly made after a \"call from above,\" meaning an order from senior officials. Klepach, who had worked at VEB for 12 years, was one of Russia's most respected macroeconomists. He had previously served as head of Russia's Economic Development Ministry's macroeconomic forecasting department and held key positions under several prominent ministers. Despite the dismissal, experts argue that Klepach's warnings should not delay the looming crisis in Russia's economy.",
  "summary": "The Russian state corporation VEB.RF has fired its chief economist, Andrei Klepach, after media drew attention to a May speech in which he said Russia is losing the global economic and technological competition and that it cannot win a “war of attrition” with Ukraine, according to a report by independent outlet The Bell that cited two people who know Klepach personally. According to The Bell ,…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Daily Maverick",
        "title": "AFTER THE BELL: Spar and SAA lose their captains while becalmed in treacherous waters",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/17/after-the-bell-spar-and-saa-lose-their-captains-while-becalmed-in",
        "published": "2026-08-17T21:08:50.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}