Belgium EU Finance Ministers Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved Russia’s economy is under growing strain as its invasion of Ukraine drags on and Western sanctions are undermining President Vladimir Putin’s ability to sustain his war, a leading European economist said after briefing finance ministers on Tuesday. The economist, Torbjörn Becker, Director of the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics, warned that should Russia prevail, European Union governments would have to spend 2-3 times more than they currently do on defense for several years. Russia’s “financial system, their macroeconomic performance, is under pressure. It’s not in balance. Risks are mounting. But it doesn’t mean that we can sit back and relax,” Becker told reporters at EU headquarters in Brussels . He spoke after briefing the bloc’s finance ministers to help provide a picture of “the actual condition of Russia’s economy, which significantly contrasts with the narrative promoted by Russian propaganda,” the EU’s Polish presidency said. It said that discussion would help “us to better shape punitive, financial and economic sanctions against Russia.” Becker said Russia’s economy only accounts for about 12% of the economies of the world’s biggest trading bloc. He underlined that it is highly dependent on oil
