People walk across Red Square near St. Basil's Cathedral and the Kremlin's Spasskaya Tower in central Moscow, Russia September 21, 2022. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina
(Reuters) - The cost of Russia's military mobilisation and the impact of Western sanctions are set to blow a hole in the government's budget forecasts and drain Moscow's reserves to their lowest level in years, according to analysts' latest calculations.
That will put an ever greater strain on the Kremlin's resources as President Vladimir Putin seeks to fund a conflict with no end in sight and prepares for a possible re-election bid in 2024.
