Russia will spend almost 2 trillion rubles on authorities in the occupied regions of Ukraine

The Russian government plans to spend 1.88 trillion rubles over the next three years. to finance the federal authorities in the occupied regions of Ukraine.

These funds will be distributed among the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson oblasts in 2024-2026. At the same time, expenses will increase year by year: in 2024, the total costs will amount to 590 billion rubles, in 2025 – 625.9 billion, and in 2026 – 666.7 billion, RBC writes, citing the projects of the Ministry of Finance.

Over three years, 939.7 billion rubles. will travel to ensure the operation of “other Land authorities” in the territories of the new entities. Another 569.9 billion rubles. will be spent on the work of federal executive bodies.

Also 367.8 billion rubles. will direct to the formation of territorial bodies of “separate” federal executive bodies and 4 billion rubles. – the creation of federal budgetary health care institutions Rospotrebnadzor.

Among the federal authorities, most funds will be spent on the work of the Federal Tax Service (about 88 billion rubles), the State Treasury (20.7 billion) and the Rosreestr (15.6 billion). Among the territorial authorities – for the functioning of the Ministry of the Interior (38 billion), the National Guard (34 billion), the Ministry of Emergency Situations (16 billion) and the Federal Prison Service (8.8 billion).

The scale of spending on the regions of Ukraine occupied by Russian troops is explained not only by civil and social tasks, but also by military ones, says Alexander Deryugin, senior researcher at the Budget Policy Research Laboratory of the RANEPA Institute of Applied Economic Research. However, due to the opacity of the situation, the actual size of the needs of the occupied regions is not clear, the expert adds.

Russia is creating federal and territorial government agencies in the regions of Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced their annexation on September 30, 2022. The process of their formation should be completed by June 1, 2023. Branches of the Federal Tax Service, departments of Rospotrebnadzor and branches of the Social Fund of Russia are already operating in the occupied territories.

Meanwhile, due to the war and sanctions in Russia, the federal budget deficit is growing. For the first four months since the beginning of the year, it amounted to 3.4 trillion rubles. Over the last 12 months, the deficit has already reached 7.9 trillion rubles.

By the end of 2023, the “hole” in the treasury may amount to 7 trillion rubles, MMI analysts predict. “It’s not a disaster because there are still reserves. If they run out, there will be a disaster, ”they say.