Ukrainian intelligence says Russian regions gripped by financial crisis

Russia’s periphery regions are entering 2026 under the strain of a deepening economic crisis, Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service reported.

“Russia’s regions are heading into the new year with a growing sense of deadlock, as the financial burden is rapidly concentrating in areas that until recently formed the backbone of the economy,” the statement said.

A combination of sanctions, the loss of export markets, and a worsening global economic environment has exposed structural weaknesses in regional budgets, which are no longer able to meet even basic financial obligations. The hardest-hit areas include traditionally depressed regions such as Kalmykia, Mari El, and Pskov Oblast, according to the intelligence service.

The crisis is being further exacerbated by troubles in industrial and metallurgical regions. Coal-mining and metallurgy-heavy areas, including Kemerovo and Irkutsk oblasts, are facing severe pressure from falling global commodity prices, sanctions, and mounting problems at major enterprises.

Several regions with specific economic vulnerabilities — including Astrakhan, Kursk, and Belgorod oblasts — have found themselves in an even more precarious position due to resource depletion or their proximity to the front line, leaving them fully dependent on federal subsidies.

“The overall logic for the regions is becoming increasingly harsh: they can no longer rely on the center. The federal budget, constrained by limited resources, is focused on the war against Ukraine. For Russia’s regions, this means one thing — survival without support and without prospects,” the intelligence service said.

Experts note that without large-scale financial assistance from Moscow, regional governments are being forced to fend for themselves, with little hope of stable economic development.