Trump frustrated amid warning Putin can escalate conflict

Russian President Vladimir Putin has enough capital to fund the war in Ukraine for years to come despite economic pressure mounting, the former head of the country’s central bank told CNBC on Friday.

“The Russian economy is close to stagnation,” Sergey Aleksashenko, former deputy chairman of Russia’s central bank, told CNBC’s “Europe Early Edition.”

Aleksashenko said on Friday the “mood is not good,” with the Bank of Russia forecasting growth of just 0.9% for the country’s economy this year, compared with 4.3% last year.

But he added that the “glass is half full,” with the central bank gradually bringing inflation down and various industries moving in opposite directions.

Asked whether Putin has enough money to finance the war in Ukraine, Aleksashenko said: “Unfortunately, yes.”

“Despite all rumors, despite the growing budget deficit, despite the growing borrowings by the Minister of Finance, he has enough money to finance the war,” he told CNBC.

“I am quite sure that he is able to finance the war another two, three years, at least. Maybe more,” he added.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in early 2022, with troops now in their fourth winter of conflict.

Aleksashenko’s comments came after NATO chief Mark Rutte issued a stark warning to allies that they were at serious risk of attack by Moscow.   

“We are Russia’s next target, and we are already in harm’s way,” he said in a speech in Germany on Thursday. “NATO’s own defenses can hold for now, but with its economy dedicated to war, Russia could be ready to use military force against NATO within five years.”

Despite international efforts to bring the war to an end, Putin has signaled he is willing to keep waging the war to achieve Russia’s aims. Last week, he warned that Russia would take a key Ukrainian territory “by force” if Kyiv’s troops did not withdraw willingly.

In a bid to ramp up the economic pressure on the Kremlin, European officials have announced proposals to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine’s reconstruction — a move that Russian officials have called tantamount to justification for war.

On Friday, Russia’s central bank announced it was suing Belgian clearing house Euroclear in a Moscow court “for recovery of losses caused to the Bank of Russia.”

“The actions of the Euroclear depository caused damage to the Bank of Russia due to the inability to manage cash and securities,” it said in a statement, according to a Google translation. It said the lawsuit was also “in connection with the mechanisms of direct or indirect use of the Bank of Russia’s assets without the consent of the Bank of Russia, which are officially being considered by the European Commission.”

Euroclear declined to comment, and the Belgian…