Russia Has Run Out of Money to Pay Its Soldiers, Finance ...

By Brendan Cole

Senior News Reporter

ShareNewsweek is a Trust Project member

Payments for Russian troops fighting in Ukraine were suspended due to a lack of budget funds, it has been reported.

The finance minister from Yakutia said that troops from the republic in Russia’s far-eastern republic could not receive bonuses and one-time payments due to the shortfall.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment.

...

Why It Matters

Vladimir Putin has pledged record military spending to attract troops to fight in the war, but also as part of a long-term policy to beef up the Russian armed forces.

Reports that troops have faced problems getting payments could be a warning sign of liquidity problems inside Russia’s war machine.

What To Know

Russia has offered huge financial incentives to attract recruits, which include large signing-on bonuses, salaries several times that of the national average and compensation packages for families in the event of injuries or death.

These payments vary from region to region, but according to Yakutsk Online, the republic had previously allocated up to 2.6 million rubles (approximately $29,000) per contract soldier.

This is divided among federal (400,000 rubles—$4,500), regional (1.8 million rubles—$20,000), and municipal budgets (400,000 rubles—$4,500), according to United24 Media.

However, Russian media reported that Yakutia had suspended payments to troops due to a regional budget shortfall and an inability to forecast demand.

The republic’s finance minister, Ivan Alekseev, announced the pause in payments during a local television broadcast in which he explained how it was impossible to calculate in advance how many people would need payments.

He did not specify what kind of payments had been suspended, but did say that the problems would be fixed and that the amounts would be made soon.

As Russia reels from sanctions because of Putin’s aggression, the financial burden of incentivizing recruitment has forced regions to slash or suspend payments.

Since the beginning of October, four federal subjects—Tatarstan, Chuvashia, Mari El, and Samara—cut bonuses to recruits from more than two million rubles ($20,000) to 400,000 rubles ($4,000) with similar cuts in Belgorod oblast and the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District, according to Russian media sources cited by the Jamestown Foundation.

Yakutia was among Russian regions that had found it difficult to recruit contract soldiers due to heavy losses, low payments and the reluctance of local authorities to support mobilization efforts, Ukrainian military intelligence (DIU) said in October on Telegram.

It added that recruitment centers in Yakutia were failing to meet 40 percent of Moscow's established quotas and that similar recruitment problems were found in the country’s far-east, according to the DIU.

What People Are Saying

Yakutia’s finance minister Ivan Alekseev said on the suspension of troop payments as per Russian local outlet Yakutsk Online: “Unfortunately, we really have such a situation. However, the government has worked it out and the funds have been found... and all payments will be made.”

What Happens Next

Officials in Yakutia have said that the payments would be made soon. However, as Russian losses continue to mount, the financial strain of finding recruits to go to Ukraine could cause further economic problems for Moscow's war machine.

Request Reprint & LicensingSubmit CorrectionView Editorial & AI Guidelines