Russia has sunk to its worst state since the USSR – analyst

Analyst Joseph Epstein, in a Newsweek article, claims Russia is in its worst state since the USSR. Ukrainian strikes have knocked out a quarter of oil refining, causing fuel shortages in half the regions. Attacks on Wildberries destroyed eight centers, with damages in the billions of dollars. The US lifted restrictions for Kyiv and strengthened its influence in the post-Soviet space.

Analyst Joseph Epstein from the Turan research center, in an article for Newsweek, asserts that Russia is experiencing its most severe situation since the collapse of the USSR. According to his data, Ukrainian drones have destroyed eight large Wildberries distribution centers in the Moscow region, St. Petersburg, Krasnodar, and occupied Simferopol over recent weeks. The company lost more than a tenth of its warehouse space, with restoration estimated at $460 million and damage from burned goods in the billions. Systematic strikes have taken about a quarter of Russia's oil refining capacity offline, causing fuel shortages in more than half of the regions. Epstein links this to a change in US strategy: after the failure of Trump's attempts to establish dialogue with the Kremlin, Washington lifted restrictions on Kyiv's use of Western weapons and intensified diplomacy in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, undermining Moscow's influence. The analyst also notes that corruption, ineffective governance, and the war have contributed to the crisis.

Russia has sunk to its worst state since the USSR – analyst