Putin’s Mobilization Hits Russia’s Economy in Its Weak Spots
- Call-up, exodus of workers seen worsening labor shortage
- Economists see further drag on growth from militarization
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Vladimir Putin’s decision to call up 300,000 men to fight in his invasion of Ukraine is hitting two of the battered Russian economy’s weak spots.
The order takes about one in a hundred of the country’s active workers from their jobs to send to the front when record-low unemployment - combined with the exodus of Russians fleeing the country to avoid the mobilization - means there are few candidates to replace them. And it’s likely to batter Russians’ already-fragile finances, leaving some draftees’ families short of cash.