Top Russian economist ousted after warning of growing costs of Ukraine war

Andrey Klepach, top economist at Russia’s state development bank VEB, had warned Russia was lagging behind rivals.Published On 18 Aug 202618 Aug 2026Andrey Klepach has been removed as the chief economist at Russia’s state development bank VEB, Russian media reported, after a speech was made public in which he warned that Russia’s economy was being harmed by the war on Ukraine.Russian state news agency TASS reported on Sunday that Klepach no longer held the position at the bank.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3How Russian dissidents are being punished by both Russia and Europelist 2 of 3Russia bars only party opposing war in Ukraine from parliamentary votelist 3 of 3Russia maintains election ban on opposition Yabloko, jails deputy headend of list“Andrey Klepach is no longer serving as chief economist at VEB.RF. His successor will soon be appointed. The candidate has already been selected,” the bank said in a statement cited by TASS.Klepach, who was appointed to the role in 2014, also confirmed his dismissal ⁠to the Reuters news agency.Klepach reportedly warned of the economic damage from the war at a financial forum in May, but the comments were only reported last week....