Kyiv: Kremlin spends $5 billion a year on war in Donbas
According to Oleksii Reznikov, Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister for The Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories, Moscow spends about $5 billion a year on waging war in the Donbas.
He said this in an interview with LB.ua.
The Deputy Prime Minister believes that Russia has agreed to a comprehensive truce because the war has been going on for six years and requires a lot of expenses, including the support of pro-Russian militants’ groups.
"The question remains: how much longer Russia can finance the war in the Donbas, given the economic and political situation inside Russia. According to my calculations, Moscow spends $5 billion a year on this," he said in an interview with LB.ua.
In addition to military expenditures, Russia still pays salaries to so-called public servants in the territories of the Donbas which are not under Ukraine’s control.
"Are they paying public servants in Libya or Syria? No. They don't pay anyone's wages there. And it takes place in the Donbas, that is why the Kremlin has to explain to its taxpayers why they keep several million foreign citizens on the payroll. And some of these citizens, in turn, are already claiming to enjoy all-Russian benefits, which, amid the crisis, cannot be provided to everyone," says Reznikov.
He added that the sanctions imposed against Russia will remain as long as the Kremlin fails to comply with its commitments.
On July 22, the Trilateral Contact Group agreed on a full and comprehensive ceasefire in the Donbass from 00:01 on July 27. The Ukrainian military says preparations for the event have been unprecedented. There will be additional monitoring at each Ukrainian position over the ceasefire. It will be carried out by specially commanded Ukrainian servicemen.
The ceasefire includes, among other things, a ban on offensive, reconnaissance and sabotage activities, as well as on the use of all types of aircraft. At a briefing on July 27, the Commander of the Joint Forces Operation, Volodymyr Kravchenko, said that the pro-Russian forces violated the ceasefire 20 minutes after it began.
In total, two shillings and one provocation were recorded in the area of the Joint Forces Operation from midnight on 27 July until the end of the day.