An exiled Russian businessman has warned that Putin cannot be stopped unless countries stop buying Russian goods such as oil and gas, Sky News reports.

Evgeny Chichvarkin, once one of Russia’s richest young entrepreneurs, said the current sanctions are not effective either.

“As long as western and eastern countries are (still) buying oil, gas, timber, nickel and many other things from Putin, he will be comfortable because the financial situation in Russia is quite stable,” he told Sky News. .

“Sanctions are not working as well as they should — despite these record sanctions, Russia’s GDP has only fallen by about two percent. This means that the sanctions do not apply,” he says.

When asked if he thinks that Putin can be defeated, he answers: “It depends, unfortunately, Ukraine needs to be supported by cash, because Ukraine’s economy cannot be independent now. A lot of tanks, a lot of rockets, rockets… we need to put them in Ukraine.”

Chichvarkin, 48, made millions of euros through his mobile phone retail business before fleeing the country in 2008 following a campaign against corruption in Russia. He also directly criticized Putin.

Chichvarkin currently lives in London, where he runs a wine shop in Mayfair and helps raise funds for the purchase of medical supplies for Ukraine.

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