Andrei Kostin – Charm

Putin Makes It Official: Russia Is All in on Defense Spending

Cs news11 months ago11 months ago05 mins

Putin has signed off on a record defense budget for 2025 amid the ongoing Ukraine war. Defense spending will rise to 13.5 trillion rubles, making up a third of the country’s budget. Russia’s economy faces inflation and ruble decline, despite military-driven activities. Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed off a federal budget that will boost…

Exclusive-Top Russian banker says sanctions-hit economy will slow in 2025

Cs news11 months ago05 mins

By Elena Fabrichnaya and Gleb Bryanski MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia’s sanctions-hit, militarized economy is expected to slow next year and banks’ profits will fall, while the benchmark interest rate may climb to 23% by the end of this year, Andrei Kostin, CEO of Russia’s second-largest lender, VTB, said. Kostin predicted that GDP growth will slow to…