The move to curb anti-corruption agencies risked "endangering the values of freedom, democracy in our country and the future of our children," one Ukrainian told NBC News.

Chinese-made engines are being covertly shipped via front companies to a state-owned drone manufacturer in Russia, labelled as "industrial refrigeration units" to avoid detection in the wake of Western sanctions,

A law curbing the independence of anti-graft agencies triggered the first street protests of the war and rare rebukes from European allies.

Vasily Astrov, expert on the Russian economy at the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, told Newsweek that "inflation has really subsided markedly over the past few months. The outcome of this policy has been a marked cooling of domestic demand, with the welcome side effect of rapid disinflation.