“MELTDOWN” SEEMS STRONG, BUT WE’LL SEE: Putin turns to North Korean troops as Russia’s economy heads for a ‘meltdown.’

Moscow and Pyongyang have denied any troop exchanges.

But analysts are increasingly pointing to the underlying weakness of Russia’s economy, which appears stronger due to enormous defense spending, and predicting that it will struggle to sustain its war on Ukraine.

In addition to the Western sanctions that have largely shut out Moscow from the global financial system, Russia has suffered a massive brain drain of talent fleeing the country as well as hundreds of thousands of war casualties.

That’s contributed to a tight labor market and high inflation as the defense industry and military mobilization occupy a greater share of the working-age population—representing obstacles in President Vladimir Putin’s ability to raise more troops for his war.

In an op-ed for The Hill on Monday, Rutgers University-Newark political science professor Alexander J. Motyl predicted the Russian economy will suffer a “meltdown” next year.

Despite my pessimism over a “meltdown,” the Russian central bank did raise the prime interest rate to 19% last month — hardly a sign of strength — and it’s expected to go over 20% during 2025.