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Since Putin has begun the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Russia started losing on average a thousand soldiers every day on the battlefield and gradually isolating due to the unprecedented sanctions from almost the whole world. Nevertheless, the Russian propaganda continues speaking about the successes of the «special operation» and reports about just 498 killed and 1597 wounded from its side. Thousands of Russian citizens have been going out on the streets to protest against war, but Putin’s regime immediately detains them, Andrei says.
«There’ve been anti-war demonstrations: 1500 detained in St. Petersburg; but on average, in Russia, I do think the Putin sympathisers prevail – maybe I’m pessimistic but it looks like it.» – he claims.
In Russia, the students of Political Sciences and related fields signed the petition to stop the war in Ukraine which gathered 136 signatures. However, now the application form is deleted from the website, and it is stated that the organisers cannot put their colleagues in danger in connection with the new law, adopted in Russia on March 4. This law implies 3-15 years in prison for having an opinion different from the opinion of the Ministry of Defense, namely sharing the information about the war in Ukraine, conducting anti-war actions and making related claims, as well as calling on imposing sanctions on Russia.
Read also: The war might «severely undermine Putin»: what do liberal-minded Russians think?
On the other hand, sanctions are the aspect which is much harder for the regime to hide, because it has already affected both high officials, oligarchs and ordinary citizens in Russia.
«Regarding sanctions: we’re totally f*cked. Apple Pay almost doesn’t work, apple.com/ru doesn’t sell stuff, the prices skyrocketed. I can’t even transfer money to my foreign account properly, can’t even buy Euros now, ruble is in a trash bin and companies are pulling exports away from Russia.»
In total, dozens of companies have already withdrawn its business from the Russian market. Due to the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops, Porsche stops supplying cars to the Russian Federation and donates funds to Ukrainian refugees. In addition, Porsche was forced to suspend production at its Leipzig plant due to a lack of Ukrainian-made wiring kits. Earlier, Volkswagen and Skoda announced the cessation of car supplies to Russia and the cessation of production at enterprises in Kaluga and Nizhny Novgorod. The Volkswagen Group includes Audi, Skoda, Volkswagen, Bentley, Lamborghini and Ducati, and will no longer be supplied to Russia. According to NIKKEI Asia, Japanese heavy equipment manufacturers Hitachi and Komatsu are also suspending production in Russia and exporting to the country.
In electronics, the situation is similar. Samsung is suspending supplies of its goods to the Russian aggressor, Bloomberg reports. The manufacturer notes that the suspension will affect all Samsung products, including chips, smartphones and appliances. Earlier, companies such as Apple, Oracle, Intel and AMD announced the suspension of supplies of goods and services to Russia.
Also, all sales in Russia are stopped by technology giant Microsoft, as stated on the company’s website. The company emphasizes that it has the greatest influence in the field of cybersecurity and continues to actively help Ukrainian agencies defend against Russian cyber attacks, in particular – on Ukrainian TV channels and civilian sites. Leading companies-manufacturers of microchips have also announced the termination of work with the aggressor. In particular, Intel and AMD have suspended supplies of all their chips and other computer products to Russia.
Due to Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, 36 countries banned flights to Russia at once. Russia responded with the same ban. However, the European Union has banned leasing, insurance, supply of parts and maintenance for aircraft from Russia. Ukrayinska Pravda reports that Boeing has suspended operations in Russia and Airbus has stopped supplying spare parts and services to Russian companies, which could bury the aggressor’s aviation industry.
In the first days of the war, well-known brands such as the French fashion house Hermes, Swarovski, Airbnb, IT company Netscout, gastronomic guide Michelin, EPAM, network equipment manufacturer Cisco Systems Inc. decided to leave the aggressor country. Denmark’s Carlsberg has also said it will not invest in Russia and suspend exports of beer and other beverages to the country.
Still, some big firms aren’t yet convinced in the Russia’s threat to the civilised world and continue operating there. Namely, these are five companies with the largest turnover in the world: Nestlé, P&G, Unilever, Coca-Cola and Danone, as it was reported by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security of Ukraine. However, Ukrainians are urged to try to reach companies through social networks.
According to Bloomberg, more than 3 million Russians working in Western companies or in joint projects co-financed by Western companies will lose their jobs. According to Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, the Russian economy may shrink by 7% this year. By comparison, in 1998, when Russia defaulted, its GDP fell by 5.3%.
By Victoria Savitska and Vitalii Holich
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Lviv Now is an English-language website for Lviv, Ukraine’s «tech-friendly cultural hub.» It is produced by Tvoe Misto («Your City») media-hub, which also hosts regular problem-solving public forums to benefit the city and its people.
