Putin urges oligarchs to "fund the war"

[Financial News] Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin has asked the country’s emerging oligarchs to help cover the costs of the war in Ukraine, signaling preparations for a prolonged conflict. Observers see this as an attempt to strengthen a wartime economic system by drawing even private capital into funding the war effort.
According to Russian online outlet The Bell on the 26th (local time), Vladimir Putin told wealthy business figures at a closed-door meeting that "we will keep fighting" and that "we will advance to the Donbas border." While making clear his determination to maintain the offensive, he reportedly asked those present to make voluntary contributions to the war budget.
Some oligarchs responded immediately. Suleyman Kerimov, a Russian senator known as a close ally of Vladimir Putin, is said to have pledged support worth 100 billion rubles (about 185 billion won). Kerimov amassed his fortune through energy investments and is on sanctions lists in the United States, the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom.
The plan was reportedly proposed by Igor Sechin, chief executive officer of Russian state oil company Rosneft. Sechin, a long-time confidant of Vladimir Putin, is regarded as a key architect of the strategy to mobilize finances based on the energy sector.
On the same day, Vladimir Putin also spoke directly about corporate finances at a meeting of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP). Pointing to heightened oil price volatility due to conflicts in the Middle East, he assessed that "the market has fallen into turmoil."
He went on to say that while there may be a temptation to use additional profits for dividends or consumption, companies "must be cautious." He stressed that profits gained from higher oil prices should not be spent immediately, but instead should be used to support fiscal stability and the war effort.
Analysts say Russia is diversifying its methods of mobilizing finances in preparation for a prolonged war. In addition to issuing government bonds and tapping its sovereign wealth funds, Moscow is now calling on private tycoons, reinforcing the shift toward a wartime economic system.

km@fnnews.com Kim Kyung-min Reporter