Kremlin's debt-forgiveness bid: €95m spent on Ukraine war
The Russian State Duma has approved a law allowing the cancellation of debts up to 95,000 euros for participants in the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin uses this method of recruiting new soldiers.
The Kremlin is seeking new soldiers to send to the front in Ukraine, offering debt forgiveness up to 95,000 euros. The Russian State Duma has passed a special law concerning loans taken out before 1st December 2024 that are already subject to court or enforcement proceedings. The cancellation will apply to participants in the war and their relatives, who sign a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defence after 1st December 2024.
According to the Federal Bailiff Service, from January to September 2024, creditors demanded repayment of 13 billion euros, which is a 34.2% increase compared to the previous year. During this period, 10.9 million new enforcement proceedings were initiated, a rise of 11.6% compared to 2023.
Russia needs thousands of soldiers, counts on debtors
Portal Verska reports that 90% of those signing contracts with the Ministry of Defence are individuals with financial problems. The Kremlin plans to attract 225,000 new soldiers for contract service over the next three years.
Due to a decree by President Putin on July 31, 2024, the salary for signing a contract is currently 3,800 euros.
The war costs billions of rubles
In the first half of 2024, Moscow spent over 300 million euros on payments to new contractors, exceeding the budget planned for all of next year. This demonstrates how much importance the Kremlin places on recruiting new soldiers.
Next year, the Kremlin will allocate as much as 41% of its budget to defence and security. This is more than the total amount spent on education, healthcare, social policy, and economic development. Interestingly, almost 30% of these funds will indirectly support military actions. The costs of the conflict in Ukraine continuously rise, slowly consuming the profits generated in recent years.
These represent the largest military expenditures in Russia's history. Never before has the state planned to allocate such enormous resources to military purposes. Moreover, just a year ago, a completely different scenario was predicted. According to the budget adopted last autumn, in 2025, defence spending was expected to decrease to 80 billion pounds. However, the escalating conflict in Ukraine is leading to increased costs.
