Russian regions will cut infrastructure spending due to budget shortfalls - intelligence
Kyiv • UNN
Around 65 Russian regions will reduce capital expenditure in 2027–2029. Budget deficits and new obligations will increase pressure on local authorities.
Around 65 Russian regions plan to cut spending on investment and infrastructure projects in 2027–2029. Local authorities are abandoning some of the planned work and construction, reports the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, according to UNN.
Details
Thus, Tatarstan plans to cut spending by 13% in 2027, to $6.6 billion; Leningrad Oblast by 2.9%, to $3.5 billion; and Yakutia by 2.7%, to $4 billion.
According to a forecast by the Russian Finance Ministry, regional budgets will receive $331.4 billion in 2027, while spending $342 billion. The deficit will amount to $10.5 billion. In addition, Moscow is assigning new responsibilities to the regions without providing them with funding. Local authorities are forced to pay for these tasks from their own budgets, taking money away from other programs
At the same time, Russia’s central authorities are revising the rules for providing financial support to poorer regions.
In 2027, Dagestan, Tuva, Ingushetia, and Altai Krai are being offered a guarantee of no more than 90% of the subsidies stipulated by the current budget law, instead of the full amount of payments with indexation. Even the write-off of part of the debt on budget loans comes with a condition: the released funds must be spent on priorities determined by Moscow
To remind you
Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development downgraded its forecast for gas production and exports for 2026–2029. The Kremlin will force Russians themselves to pay for the consequences of the war: this is happening through higher taxes and utility tariffs.