Putin approves multi-year budget crippled by war-driven deficit

Main budget parameters

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law defining the financial indicators of the federal budget of the Russian Federation for 2026 and the planned period of 2027–2028.

The document shows a deficit across the entire three-year cycle: in 2026, revenues are planned at 40.3 trillion rubles with expenditures of 44 trillion rubles; in 2027, 42.9 trillion rubles against 46.1 trillion rubles; and in 2028, 45.9 trillion rubles in revenues with 49.4 trillion rubles in expenditures.

These figures confirm the continuation of the trend of expenditures exceeding revenues.

Military and security spending

A key element of the budget remains funding for defense and security agencies. For 2026, 12.93 trillion rubles are allocated for military needs, and including spending on security and law enforcement, the total reaches 16.84 trillion rubles. This is significantly higher than social spending.

Social spending

Social programs are allocated 10.8 trillion rubles, which is almost one and a half times less than the total spending on the military, security, and law enforcement.

This budget structure demonstrates the Kremlin’s persistent priority of strengthening military capabilities and security agencies.

For comparison, the Bundestag approved Germany’s federal budget for 2026, including the largest aid package to Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war. The document, passed by the lower house of parliament on November 28, sets an unprecedented level of financial support that Berlin plans to provide to Kyiv next year.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s draft state budget for 2026 allocates 2.8 trillion hryvnias for security and defense. A key innovation compared to the previous document is the creation of a 200-billion-hryvnia reserve fund, which will allow for rapid coverage of additional sector needs throughout the year.