Russian Oligarchs Contribute About 400 Billion Rubles to Ukraine War at Kremlin’s Request

Voluntary contributions from Russian businesses to the state budget, which are used in part to finance the war against Ukraine, reached 383.6 billion rubles (about $4.2 billion) by mid-August 2026.

The figure is already 1.5 times higher than the total amount of such payments made throughout last year, Vedomosti reports.

The funds came from large contributions by Russian oligarchs to help cover the state budget deficit.

The main flow of contributions began after a spring meeting between business leaders and government officials.

According to the Electronic Budget system, contributions totaled 15.6 billion rubles ($172 million) in the first quarter, before rising to 159.7 billion rubles ($1.76 billion) in April. In May, contributions increased to 232.3 billion rubles ($2.56 billion), with further growth reported in July and August.

Initially, the Russian authorities expected to raise about 300 billion rubles ($3.3 billion) this way by the end of the year.
The oligarchs’ contributions come amid a sharp increase in Russia’s budget deficit, which reached 6.4 trillion rubles ($71.2 billion) in January-July.