The Kremlin on Friday denied reports that President Vladimir Putin had asked Russia’s richest men to bankroll the war in Ukraine, pushing back on claims that Moscow is scrambling for cash as military spending surges.
“It’s not true that Putin made such a request,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, according to Reuters.
Peskov explained that one individual had independently offered to donate a “very large sum” to the state during a recent meeting with business leaders, describing it as a personal initiative. “This was absolutely his initiative, and not President Putin’s. Although, of course, the head of state welcomed such an initiative,” Peskov added, insisting the money was not intended for the war.
He added that many of those present at the meeting had built their fortunes in the 1990s thanks to links to the state and may now see it as their duty to contribute.
The denial follows reports first published by independent Russian outlet The Bell, citing anonymous sources, who said Putin had urged entrepreneurs behind closed doors to help plug growing holes in Russia’s wartime finances, and signaled Moscow would press on with the war until it secures full control over eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region.
Pressure is mounting on Russia’s finances as the cost of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine continues to climb. The Kremlin’s defense budget has surged 42 percent to 13.1 trillion rubles (€130 billion) over the past year, forcing Moscow to shore up its finances.
Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov has floated another windfall tax if the ruble weakens further, after Moscow already raised around 320 billion rubles (€3 billion) from big business in a one-off 2023 levy. In January, the government also hiked VAT to 22 percent to raise additional revenue.
