Vasily Astrov, expert on the Russian economy at the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, told Newsweek that "inflation has really subsided markedly over the past few months. The outcome of this policy has been a marked cooling of domestic demand, with the welcome side effect of rapid disinflation.

"If we try to establish a ceasefire without building up our future defenses, the war will drag on for many more years," former Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said.

Mikhail Simdyankin was lured into the military by a generous sign-on bonus and was stunned by what he found in Ukraine. ‘If I could, I would rewind and give all that money back.’