After the congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), Vladimir Putin held a closed meeting with representatives of big business. During it, he discussed with oligarchs the further continuation of the war and its financing. Two sources told The Bell this.
"They said, we will keep fighting," one of the publication's interlocutors recounted as the essence of Putin's remarks. "We will go to the borders of Donbas," another added.
Then Putin, according to both sources, предложил businesspeople make voluntary contributions to the budget. Some oligarchs responded to this request during the meeting itself: Suleiman Kerimov promised to contribute 100 billion rubles.
According to a The Bell source, the idea to "shake down business in a difficult time for the country" belonged to Rosneft chief Igor Sechin. He had previously set it out to Putin in a letter.