Thousands of Russians freezing to death because of Putin's war?
"Putin is facing another grave crisis due to the ongoing heating disaster" that was pushing Russia toward "the breaking point," political adviser Jason Jay Smart told Newsweek.
"There have been estimates that perhaps thousands of Russian civilians have frozen to death," Smart said. "Incredibly, the genesis of this crisis, as a UK [Ministry of Defense (MoD)] report said today, is that the Kremlin has been pushing regional governors in Russia to make infrastructure cuts, since early 2022, to help finance the war in Ukraine."
"This is another sign that Russia is becoming increasingly unstable and nearing the breaking point," he added.
Outages had left approximately 25 percent of Moscow residents without heat in brutal winter weather as of earlier this month, while a 60-year-old Russian Navy officer reportedly froze to death in his home near St. Petersburg after losing power on January 3.
A British MoD intelligence update posted on Thursday to X, formerly Twitter, suggested that the blackouts were due to the Ukraine war using up funds that might have otherwise gone to maintain an aging utilities infrastructure.
\In recent months, there have been heating breakdowns in 16 locations across Russia," the update reads. "These breakdowns amidst sub-freezing temperatures are an expansion of an existing problem that has plagued Russian cities and towns for decades, but has likely become more acute due to Russian wartime policies"
"Russia has routinely prioritised military spending over reinvestment in general public infrastructure," it continues. "Additionally, mobilisation has likely led to a workforce shortage across all industries including qualified heating engineers and plumbers."
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.https://www.newsweek.com/putin-has-another-crisis-his-hands-1864098 |
