(KYIV) – The chief economist at Russia’s second-largest state bank has been dismissed after warning that Moscow cannot win a prolonged economic war against Ukraine and comparing the current situation to the period before the 1917 Russian Revolution.
Andrei Klepach, who served at the state-controlled development bank VEB since 2014, made the remarks during a discussion at a financial club. His comments were widely circulated in Russian media before his dismissal the following day, according to a report published by the Anna from Ukraine channel on 17th August 2026.
Klepach reportedly stated that sanctions and Russia’s international isolation have begun to take effect, and that Russia has lost most of its allies in the Middle East, Europe and elsewhere. He argued that the myth of the Kremlin as a centre of a multipolar world has been destroyed by the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s weakness.
The economist also highlighted the impact of Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian infrastructure, including the destruction of ports, logistics networks and entire industries. He noted that all ten of Russia’s major oil refineries have been damaged, alongside other businesses and marketplaces.
Klepach warned that Russia is not competitive in the twenty first century, and that the country is losing not only to the United States and China but to Ukraine, which he described as smaller but democratic, with horizontal connections that enable innovation.
He compared the current economic and social conditions to those of 1916 and 1917, when exhausting war and poor decisions led to poverty, social unrest and revolution.
The report noted that Klepach is not alone in his concerns. Elvira Nabiullina, the head of the Russian central bank, has reportedly tried to persuade Putin to end the war, while the head of Sberbank has said that every Russian bank chief executive dreams of the special military operation ending.
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