The rouble has lost around a quarter of its value against the dollar since Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, as Western sanctions shrink Russia’s balance of trade and military spending soars.
It hit 101.7475 per U.S. dollar on Monday, its weakest point in almost 17 months and 30% down so far this year. Based on the cross rate , the year-to-date fall was 26.2%.
Putin has assumed the West will get bored and give up eventually. And Russia can just wait it out.
But, the West is getting to defang Russia for a generation, exfiltrate its best and brightest, and set itself up perfectly for out-competing Russia in the northern passages opening up due to climate change in the coming decades.
It baffles me that they didn’t predict this?
No matter the outcome of the war, Russia have suffered a loss that will take generations to recover from.