Ukraine's best hope may be a faltering Russian economy

The Russian gas giant Gazprom was a money machine for the last two decades, enriching many insiders and helping keep Vladimir Putin's government flush. But that run has ended, with Gazprom recently announcing it lost $6.9 billion in 2023, mainly because of Russia's war in Ukraine and sanctions that have punctured Gazprom's sales. Like Gazprom, the whole Russian economy is beginning to crack under the twin strains of enormous wartime spending and withering sanctions. Since invading Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has held up better than many Westerners expected or hoped. That has been mainly due to skillful central bank…