Ukraine’s intelligence says Russia cuts pay to contract soldiers

This was reported by the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine (FISU), Ukrinform reports.

These cuts point to a deepening budget crisis in the face of mounting economic pressure and sanctions, the agency believes.

Payments have been reduced from $45,000 to $26,000 in Samara region, from $39,000 to $24,000 in the Yamalo-Nenets district, from $38,000 to $19,000 in Nizhny Novgorod, from $20,000 to $12,000 in Bashkortostan, and Ufa – to $7,000, the FISU learned.

The main reason behind the move is regional budget deficit. In Bashkortostan, that deficit went up to $124 million, in Kemerovo region – to $899 million. The increase is primarily due coal industry crisis which puts 15,000 miners at risk of losing jobs.

Regional authorities are reviewing spending priorities, shifting focus toward the implementation of national projects under the control of federal supervision as Moscow finances up to 90% of expenditures in the social area. This reduces the flexibility of local budgets and forces local authorities to go modest on "non-essential" spending.

“The reduction in payments illustrates the depth of financial instability across regions and an uncoordinated policy, which only increases social tension amid war economy,” the intelligence agency noted.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Russia's National Welfare Fund has $38 billion left of the $150 billion it had accumulated prior to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.