Andrei Klepach has been removed as chief economist at VEB.RF after a speech surfaced in which he warned Russia could not win a prolonged war of attrition against Ukraine and was likely to face a social crisis even if its economy did not collapse. TASS said the state development bank had already selected a successor, and Reuters reported that Klepach confirmed his dismissal. The Bell said, citing people familiar with the matter, that his removal was directly linked to the assessment. Russian officials have continued to defend the economy, with the Russian Embassy to the U.K. saying Moscow's fiscal position remained stronger than many Western peers and citing foreign public debt of about $57 billion. Analysts say Russia's headline resilience and modest growth mask increasing reliance on military spending, higher taxes and subsidized lending, while Ukrainian drone strikes on oil refineries, energy facilities and delivery warehouses are adding pressure.