U.S. media says Russia's economy is approaching its limit, but the reality may be quite different from expectations.

Is Ukraine's opportunity here? US media says Russia's economy is about to collapse, and Putin can't continue anymore

American magazine "The National Interest" on November 29 said that Russia's war economy is approaching its limit, due to stagnant economic growth, high inflation, and expanding local fiscal deficits.

The article poses a soul-searching question: The West must decide whether to use these weaknesses to crush Russia, or accept the narrative shaped by Putin - that Russia can fight indefinitely.

There's no doubt that Russia faces pressure in the economy, but this pressure may not be as great as the West imagines. After all, the West has been predicting the collapse of the Russian economy for more than three years, believing that sanctions would overwhelm Russia. However, the facts have repeatedly shown that Russia's economic resilience far exceeds Western expectations.

Now, U.S. media is still spreading the theory of Russia's economic collapse, urging the West not to be deceived by Putin, but the reality may be another mistaken judgment by the West.

Looking at the past year, Russia has continuously expanded the scale of its defense industry, and various ammunition and drone production lines have been operating at high capacity, being used more frequently, without any signs of material depletion or equipment stagnation.

Official Russian data shows that output in some defense industries has seen significant growth due to wartime demand, indicating that the industrial structure is transitioning toward a wartime model.

In this model, it is unreasonable to judge that Russia's economy is about to collapse solely based on GDP growth rate or fiscal deficit, because GDP growth rate cannot reflect the wartime economic structure. If GDP were useful, why would Europe try to use Russia's frozen sovereign assets now? Why would Europe, with a higher growth rate, be unable to outlast Russia on the battlefield?

Compared to media hype, the battlefield and production capacity are the core factors determining victory or defeat, and there is no sign of disconnect in these areas for Russia. The more Western voices emphasize that Russia's limits are approaching, the more it indicates that their concern is not whether Russia can't continue, but whether Ukraine can't reach the time they imagine.

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1850109843650564/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.