Vladimir Putin 'fears Soviet-style collapse' amid budget pressures to fund war in Ukraine

Vladimir Putin is all too aware that economic pressure brought down the Soviet Union as he is forced to hike defence spending and slash social benefits to fund his war in Ukraine, according to Western officials.Despite each side hoping for a breakthrough, the war is set to “grind on” in eastern Ukraine, where Russian forces this week took the strategic town of Vuhledar, and in Russia’s Kursk region following a surprise Ukrainian incursion there.Ukraine will be keeping a wary eye on November’s White House election given Donald Trump’s chilly attitude towards extending further US aid.But President Joe Biden’s administration remains determined to leave Kyiv in the “strongest possible position” with the latest funding package, one Western official said.Russian losses will continue at an average of 1,200 casualties a day, further straining the war effort given President Putin’s reluctance to widen mobilisation for fear of the impact on economic sectors where labour shortages are already rife.Russia’s central bank last month hiked its key interest rate by a full point to 19%, highlighting the inflationary pressures unleashed by the invasion of Ukraine.