Putin’s war strategic failure for Kremlin: Janet Yellen

BENGALURU: On the eve of the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen claimed on Thursday that Vladimir Putin's war has been a strategic failure for Kremlin.

Yellen was addressing the media ahead of the first G20 finance ministers and central bank governors' meeting set to begin here from Friday.

The US Treasury Secretary said that the twin goals of degrading Russia's military-industrial complex and reducing the revenues that it can use to fund its war are succeeding.

"The Russian military is struggling to replace over 9,000 pieces of heavy military equipment that it has lost since February 2022. It has suffered production shut-downs at key defence-industrial facilities. Further, Russia's economy has become increasingly isolated. Estimates indicate that nearly a million Russians may have left the country last year. This is putting downward pressure on its productive capacity going forward," Yellen claimed.

Commending its defiance of Russia's aggression, Yellen reiterated the US' continued support for Ukraine.

"The United States has provided over $46 billion in security, economic and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. Our military assistance includes key defensive weapons that Ukraine has asked for - such as the Patriot missile defence system. And our economic assistance is making Ukraine's resistance possible by supporting the home front -- funding critical public services and helping keep the government running. In the coming months, we expect to provide around $10 billion in additional economic support for Ukraine" she said.

Continued, robust support for Ukraine will be a major topic of discussion during my time here in India," Yellen said.