# Russia’s VEB.RF fires chief economist after warning it is losing the war of attrition

https://mins.news/en/item/24395

- Meduza, 2026-08-17 17:07 UTC
- Politics
- Original: https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/08/17/russia-s-biggest-state-development-corp-fires-andrei-klepach-its-chief-economist-for-saying-in-may-that-moscow-is-losing-its-war-of-attrition-with-the-west-and-losing-it-in-some-ways-to-ukraine

> Russia’s state development corporation VEB.RF has dismissed chief economist Andrei Klepach over remarks that Moscow was losing its economic and technological race with the West and, in some respects, Ukraine. Klepach also warned that rising costs and imbalances could eventually trigger a serious social crisis.

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