--- title: "Russia Redirects Funds Meant for Budget Workers' Pay Raises to Payments for New Contract Soldiers — Intelligence" description: "According to Ukraine's SVR, Russian regions are redirecting funds meant for budget workers' pay raises to payments for new contract soldiers. In Yakutia the indexation was postponed, and in Rostov Oblast it was cancelled." date: 2026-09-12T06:08:12.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/russia-redirects-budget-worker-pay-raises-to-contract-soldiers tags: [russia-budget, military-contracts, public-sector-salaries, yakutia, ukraine-war, svr-ukraine] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Russia Redirects Funds Meant for Budget Workers' Pay Raises to Payments for New Contract Soldiers — Intelligence ![New Russian contract soldiers with rifles amid combat operations](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/12/rf-pere-napravlyaet-dengi-na-zarplaty-byudzhetnikov-na-vyplaty-kontrakt/rf-pere-napravlyaet-dengi-na-zarplaty-byudzhetnikov-na-vyplaty-kontrakt-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - Ukraine's SVR claims that Russian regions are postponing or cancelling pay raises for budget workers in order to fund payments to new contract soldiers. - In Yakutia, the 5.4% indexation was moved from July 1 to autumn, the lump-sum payment to contract soldiers was raised from 2.1 to 3 million rubles, and the deficit in Q1 reached nearly 9.5 billion rubles. - In Rostov Oblast, the 4% pay raise for budget workers planned for October was cancelled. - The GUR estimates that at the current rate of losses the Russian army could be depleted by 2028; the SVR's data is not corroborated by independent sources. Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), as reported by RBC-Ukraine, stated that Russian regions have begun revising spending on the wages of public-sector workers. According to intelligence assessments, planned salary increases are being postponed or cancelled outright, as local authorities need additional funds to pay those being recruited to fight in the war against Ukraine. According to the SVR, the first to be hit by spending cuts are teachers, medical workers, and academics, while regional authorities are forced to find money for so-called "unforeseen expenses" tied to the financial incentives for new contract soldiers. ### Shifting Priorities in Regional Budgets A telling example cited by intelligence is Yakutia. There, a 5.4% raise for public-sector workers, which was supposed to take effect on July 1, has been pushed back to autumn. The republic's official documents explicitly state that the funds had to be redirected to payments for those signing contracts with the Russian army. Meanwhile, Yakutia itself had earlier significantly increased the lump-sum payment for those being sent to war: its size grew from 2.1 million to 3 million rubles. This created additional pressure on the local treasury — the republic's budget deficit reached nearly 9.5 billion rubles in just the first quarter, whereas for the entire year 2026 it had been planned at 12.75 billion rubles. In effect, within the first three months the region exhausted a significant portion of its planned annual "cushion" of budget deficit. ### Cancellation of Indexation in Rostov Oblast According to the SVR, the authorities of Rostov Oblast made a similar decision. The 4% salary increase for public-sector workers, planned for October, was simply cancelled there. Thus, in two Russian regions, funds that could have been directed toward raising the incomes of social-sector workers came under pressure from spending on recruiting new military personnel. Intelligence emphasizes that such decisions show how the war is reshaping the priorities of regional budgets: instead of the planned indexation, authorities are searching for resources to financially incentivize those who agree to sign a contract with the army. ### Contradictory Data The key figures and estimates on this topic rely on statements from Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service, relayed through RBC-Ukraine, and are not corroborated by independent open sources or by official data on Russian regional budgets available at the time of publication. Moreover, the public domain contains differing assessments from various Ukrainian agencies: the head of the GUR, Oleksandr Ivashchenko, stated that Russia has the military and economic resources to continue the war for the next year, but if the current rate of losses is maintained, the army could experience significant attrition by 2028. According to his forecast, another 18 months of war could add 765,800 killed and wounded, which together with current losses would amount to nearly 10% of Russian men aged 25 to 49. These GUR estimates differ in wording and emphasis from the SVR's data on budget reallocations, which calls for a cautious reading of both versions. The totality of the facts cited — the postponement of indexation in Yakutia, the cancellation of the raise in Rostov Oblast, and the growth in lump-sum payments to contract soldiers — points to a structural shift in regional spending in favor of the military block. However, because the source of the information is the intelligence agency of one of the parties to the conflict, all specific amounts and percentages should be treated as claimed rather than independently verified data. ## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification - [Russia begins cutting budget workers' salaries to fund payments to new "SVO" soldiers — intelligence](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/rosiya-pochala-urizati-zarplati-byudzhetnikam-1789193031.html) - Первичный источник заявления СВР Украины; содержит все ключевые цифры по Якутии и Ростовской области. Цифры не подтверждены независимыми источниками. - [Budgets of Russian regions](https://www.tadviser.ru/index.php/%D0%A1%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%8C%D1%8F:%D0%91%D1%8E%D0%B4%D0%B6%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%8B_%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B3%D0%B8%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2_%D0%A0%D0%A4) - Обзорная статья о региональных бюджетах РФ; не содержит конкретных данных по перераспределению средств на выплаты контрактникам в Якутии и Ростовской области. - [KrasZhd tax payments into the budgets of Krasnoyarsk Krai and Khakasia exceeded 3.6 billion rubles in Q1 ...](https://news.mail.ru/society/71786316/) - Тема нерелевантна: речь о налоговых выплатах КрасЖД, не связана с заявлением СВР о зарплатах бюджетников и контрактах. ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: What, according to Ukraine's SVR, is happening to budget workers' salaries in Russian regions? **A:** According to a statement from Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service, relayed through RBC-Ukraine, planned salary increases for public-sector workers are being postponed or cancelled, and the freed-up funds are redirected to payments for new contract soldiers. ### Q: What specific figures are cited for Yakutia? **A:** The SVR indicates that the 5.4% raise, scheduled to take effect on July 1, was postponed to autumn; the lump-sum payment to contract soldiers was increased from 2.1 to 3 million rubles, and the republic's budget deficit in the first quarter reached nearly 9.5 billion rubles against an annual plan of 12.75 billion rubles. ### Q: What happened in Rostov Oblast? **A:** According to the SVR, the authorities of Rostov Oblast cancelled the 4% salary increase for public-sector workers that had been planned for October. ### Q: Are these data independently verified? **A:** No. All key figures rely on a statement from a Ukrainian intelligence agency and are not corroborated by independent open sources or by official data on Russian regional budgets at the time of publication. ### Q: What loss estimates does Ukraine's GUR provide? **A:** The head of the GUR, Oleksandr Ivashchenko, stated that if the current rate of losses is maintained, the Russian army could be depleted by 2028; another 18 months of war, according to his forecast, could add 765,800 killed and wounded, which together with current losses would amount to nearly 10% of Russian men aged 25–49.