Russia's COVID-19 tally worsens as Putin continues redirecting resources to Ukraine

Russia’s COVID-19 case tally grew by 4,956 last day, taking the tally to 18,260,293, the country’s anti-coronavirus centre reported on Sunday. The country has been reeling from a sharp decline in population pertaining to coronavirus deaths. Now, as the Putin administration continues to send healthy men to the Ukrainian battlefield, the threat of population loss has exacerbated. Furthermore, with pivotal resources being utilised to salvage the ongoing war, residents are faced with never seen before challenges. 

At least 377,670 have lost their lives since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country, according to a tally presented by Worldometers. The country has taken several measures including the imposition of quarantines, carrying out raids on potential virus carriers, and using facial recognition to segregate potential infections. Last year, Moscow had also extended public holidays in a bid to keep people back at home and curb public interactions.

Hospitals flooded with injured troops 

While the government has been ramping up efforts to stop infection, the ongoing war has adversely affected the situation. For the past 82 days, the Putin administration has been channelising resources towards its ‘special military operation in Ukraine, leaving little for the residents back home. Hospitals have witnessed a massive influx of wounded military men and civilians. Meanwhile, billions of Russian roubles are being used to procure equipment and support the battling troops. Notably, the war has also triggered nationwide protests wherein hundreds of thousands of people coalescent, increasing the possibility of spreading coronavirus.

Meanwhile, the war has now entered its 12th week with Russia's troops bolstering attacks on Ukraine's south and east. Notably, it has also increased shelling on the western city of Lviv, aiming to cut the country's supplies from the west. Amidst all this, Moscow has been using scrap metal from household appliances, computer chips, dishwashers and refrigerators for its military hardware due to Western sanctions, a top US official has claimed. “We have reports from Ukrainians that when they find Russian military equipment on the ground, it’s filled with semiconductors that they took out of dishwashers and refrigerators,” Gina Raimondo, United States Secretary of Commerce who recently met with Ukraine’s prime minister Zelenskyy said at the Senate hearing on May 11. 

(Image: AP)