German Chancellor Merz:
"The Russian economy cannot wage this war indefinitely. We know that the Russian economy has already reached its pain threshold: 7% inflation, a 14% central-bank rate, falling oil and gas revenues and an increasingly large…
Assessment
Chancellor Merz is publicly declaring that Russia's war economy is hitting structural limits. The specific numbers he cites inflation at 7 percent, a 14 percent central bank rate, and falling energy revenues are the kind of data Western leaders use to signal confidence in sanctions pressure. The claim that Russia has reached a pain threshold is a political statement as much as an economic one. Watch for whether other NATO leaders echo this language, and whether Western governments use it to justify tightening sanctions or increasing military aid to Ukraine.