Startling revelations emerge indicating that despite sanctions, EU banks persist in their operations within Russia, contributing a staggering £748 million (€800 million) to fuel Putin's Ukrainian conflict.
Prominent European banking entities, including Raiffeisen Bank International, UniCredit, ING, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, and OTP, continue to facilitate financial flows, bolstering the coffers of the Kremlin autocrat.
Investigations by the Financial Times unearthed that these Western financial institutions amassed a colossal three billion euros in profit during 2023, a threefold increase from pre-invasion levels in 2021. Remarkably, these profits, funnelled through the Kremlin, reached €800 million, bolstering Putin's war chest and shoring up fiscal stability despite Western sanctions.
Interestingly, the European banks have indirectly profited from the sanctions imposed on Russian counterparts, as the punitive measures severed access to international payment systems for the latter. Consequently, many Russians have redirected their financial transactions through EU banks.
With €800 million at his disposal, Putin could procure an astonishing 875 Kalibr cruise missiles. These deadly projectiles, each costing approximately €914,000 to manufacture, have become a mainstay in Putin's military campaign in Ukraine.
The Kalibr, a sea-launched strategic cruise missile, boasts a maximum range of 2,600 kilometers (1,616 miles), effectively covering the entirety of Ukraine. Despite its lethal capabilities, the missile operates at subsonic speeds of 0.8 to 0.9 Mach during its initial flight phase, ascending to supersonic velocities of 2.5 to 2.9 Mach in the terminal stage, complicating interception efforts by air defense systems.
Notably, the Kalibr's ability to skim at low altitudes—50-150 meters for ground targets and under 50 meters for sea targets—renders it exceptionally challenging to neutralize.
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