A top U.S. official said the Russian army is facing difficulties because of sanctions imposed by the West on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.
What Happened: Alan Estevez, Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security, said that export controls have slowly reduced the supply of materials that the Kremlin needs to rebuild its war machine.
Estevez said Moscow is working hard to evade those controls but the goods that are being smuggled in can only replace some of what it needs. Evasion techniques are not going to get you the scale you need to reconstitute your military over time.
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Estevez said the Industry and Security Agency, which oversees U.S. export restrictions, has seen that Russias chip imports have dropped by nearly 70% and that bigger items are even harder to get through.
Although, according to Estevez, the sanctions and export controls on Russia would work over time, not at once. Its not a guillotine, he said.
Over time, Putins war machine is going to be crippled, and as we continue to supply arms to Ukraine, their military capability is going up and Putins is going down, he said.
Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros said Putins defeat in the Ukraine war would dissolve the Russian empire.
"The countries of the former Soviet Union can hardly wait to see the Russians defeated in Ukraine because they want to assert their independence," said Soros.
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