Putin Pushes Private Donations for War Effort

0:00It's March 27th. This is Global News Today, your AI-powered source for world news. Russian President Vladimir Putin met with top businessman behind closed doors this week, pushing them to chip in donations to shore up the national, budget amid the war in Ukraine. He focused on ramping up military spending and made it clear Russia plans to keep fighting until it takes full control of the Eastern Dombos region. Billionaire Suleiman Karimov stepped up during the session, reportedly pledging 100 billion rubles, or roughly 1,200, million dollars to help out. Russia's economy is hurting from lower energy sales and a broader slowdown, which is squeezing tax revenues and forcing talks of possible 10 percent, cuts to non-essential spending. As the conflict stretches into its fifth year, these kinds of private contributions from business leaders may become crucial for keeping operations going.