Foreign Affairs

Thank you for the original post Texas Towelie

Source-https://bbc.com/news/articles/c4gj20xzw39o


snip-"Four years later, Russia's war on Ukraine grinds on. It has lasted longer than Nazi Germany's brutal war on the Soviet Union, known here as the Great Patriotic War."

snip-"The Russian authorities do not release casualty figures for the so-called "special military operation". But Russia is known to have suffered huge battlefield losses. So many of the towns and villages I've visited in the last two years have had museums and monuments dedicated to soldiers killed in Ukraine, as well as separate sections for recent war dead at local cemeteries."

snip-"Wars are financially draining. With Russia's budget deficit growing and the economy stagnating, the government has raised VAT from 20% to 22%. The Finance Ministry says the extra revenue will be spent on "defence and security."


snip-"Russians feel that life is getting harder. Few believe they have the power to change that. As the war enters its fifth year, there's little optimism. Many people here are just hunkering down and waiting, hoping for better times."



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