Germany's intelligence service on Wednesday accused Moscow of concealing the true cost of the war in Ukraine, saying Russia's 2025 budget deficit exceeded the officially declared amount by more than 2.36 trillion rubles ($30.45 billion). This was reported by Reuters, writes UNN.
Details
In a LinkedIn post, the BND said that Western sanctions were "clearly impacting" the Russian economy, as were significantly lower oil and gas revenues due to a sharp drop in global prices.
Putin is sacrificing Russia's economic future for his imperial goals
Last week, the Kremlin said that falling revenues and a growing budget deficit were "normal difficulties" that could be corrected thanks to overall macroeconomic stability.
Russia's oil revenues, its main export, have fallen as Moscow has been forced to sell it at significant discounts on world markets due to Western sanctions and US pressure on major buyers.
The BND estimated Russia's federal budget deficit at 8.01 trillion rubles compared to the official 5.65 trillion, which corresponds to 2.6% of GDP. Detailed calculations of how this exact amount was obtained were not disclosed, and a request for comment has so far gone unanswered.
Russia's consolidated budget deficit, which includes regional budgets, significantly worsened in 2025, reaching 8.3 trillion rubles or 3.9% of GDP, which is 2.6 times more than in 2024, due to reduced revenues and increased expenditures.
The Ministry of Finance has not yet commented on the BND's statements.
A source close to the Russian government told Reuters in February that Russia's budget situation was rapidly deteriorating.
Global oil prices rose after US and Israeli strikes on Iran, but, according to Reuters calculations, the increase is still insufficient to balance the Russian budget.
Pro-Kremlin economists admit Russian economy on verge of collapse - intelligence04.03.26, 03:22