Migration applications suggest about 15,000 Russian millionaires — as calculated in U.S. dollars — are attempting to leave the country, a reflection of the deep skepticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine within the business elite and oligarch community, British intelligence officials said Friday.
“Motivations highly likely include both personal opposition to the invasion and an intent to escape the financial impact of the sanctions imposed on Russia,” the U.K. Ministry of Defense said in a daily update on the war. “Should this exodus continue, it will likely exacerbate the war’s long-term damage to Russia’s economy.