Vladimir Putin could face a future coup from his military and big business, as Russia becomes increasingly "unstable" and finds itself in a "desperate" situation, according to a former Polish intelligence chief. Russia's economy is beginning to creak badly under the strains of almost four years of war, with the defence sector in particular feeling the heat.

Production has been hit by a combination of acute labour shortages, severe cash flow problems and lack of critical components for weapons - all this despite government investment totalling billions of dollars. Recent US sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft have exacerbated the country's financial woes. Russian oil prices are plummeting as countries stop imports of the Kremlin's energy products in a bid to comply with the White House's res

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