Vladimir Putin signed! Record war spending in the Russian budget for 2026

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a budget for 2026, which provides for record war spending, while social programs and the welfare of citizens are drastically reduced, RBC-Ukraine reports, citing a statement from the Center for Countering Disinformation of Ukraine, Focus writes.

The fact that in the federal budget for 2026 almost 40% of all spending is directed to the army and the power bloc is a record indicator since the times of the USSR.

In addition, the fact that Putin is putting Russia in "wartime" clearly shows that peace is not part of the Kremlin's plans for the nearest future. year.

Due to the collapse of oil and gas export revenues caused by sanctions, the budget has a huge deficit - 1.6% of GDP.

To "fill the gaps", the Russian government has decided to cut social programs - their share in spending has fallen to 25%, which is a minimum for the last 20 years. This means a significant deterioration in social guarantees for the population.

In addition, the budget provides for new taxes and fees. In particular, VAT is being increased to 22%, various fees are being introduced for businesses and citizens, which makes it difficult for small businesses to operate. In practice, the population of Russia will be forced to "pay for the war" - through tax pressure and cuts in social services.

Analysts note that this budget clearly shows that the prolonged war remains the Kremlin's top priority, even at the cost of degrading the economy and impoverishing its own population. Everything indicates that Putin's ambitions in the war with Ukraine are more important than domestic stability and the well-being of Russians.

It should be noted that the draft state budget of Ukraine for 2026 provides for 2.8 trillion UAH for the security and defense sector, and the main innovation is the creation of a reserve fund of 200 billion UAH, which will allow to quickly cover additional defense needs during the year.