Oleh Pendzyn, a member of the Economic Discussion Club, stated this on Espreso TV.“The Central Bank of the Russian Federation and the Russian government had planned in the state budget for this year that the war would end in the fall. There was a lot of talk about this. The funds allocated assumed a smaller overall volume of war spending than, say, in 2024,” he said.Pendzyn added that at present, the situation regarding Russia’s ability to finance the war is already quite difficult.“The thing is, Putin is ready to make serious cuts to social spending and reduce national programs to keep funding it. But in 2026, as of now, it will be extremely hard to find the money. Therefore, when we talk about prospects, it’s clear that this will put pressure,” the economist said.He believes the decisive choice about the war will not be made in the Kremlin.“In my view, it will be made in negotiations between the United States and China. Only a decision by China can realistically put Russia’s economy in a position where it cannot finance the war. As long as China remains the sole beneficiary of this war, it will continue,” Pendzyn concluded.Shutting down parts of Russia’s economy could spark mass protests, with issues already seen in coal mining, machine-building, and construction.Russian economy is already in decline, Ukrainian think tank says. It has a certain balance of resilience for this year, perhaps for the next, but hardly for a longer period.