Russia's regions are spending ever more on recruiting contract soldiers for the war against Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service reported this.

To sustain the recruitment rates demanded by the Kremlin, Russia’s regions are being forced to increase payments not only to contract soldiers but also to those who recruit them. In the first four months of 2026, at least 3.2 billion roubles were allocated to recruiters’ fees — around 75% of the sum spent on this in the whole of 2025.

The war is draining regional budgets

The money for recruitment comes from the same regional budgets that fund roads, healthcare, social programmes and other needs.

According to Russia’s Accounts Chamber, 56 regions ended the first quarter with a budget deficit, while the number of regions with a deficit of more than 10% rose to 35.

Against this backdrop, increased spending on military recruitment effectively means having to find the money elsewhere in the budget. Social programmes are likely to be the first to feel it.

The Kremlin raises its demands and shifts responsibility onto governors

Despite the regions’ financial difficulties, the Kremlin and Putin personally continue to set new recruitment targets and demand that they be met.

At the same time, Moscow has built a system in which responsibility for problems is shifted onto governors, while the centre retains the ability to set requirements and control resources.

This is particularly evident in the regions bordering the front. Instead of additional funding, the heads of the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions have been assigned personal responsibility for infrastructure and logistics problems.

The Kremlin has also replaced the mayors of 19 regional capitals since October 2025.

The war against Ukraine is thus putting ever greater pressure not only on the Russian army but also on the budgets of Russia’s own regions, forcing them to spend more and more on sustaining the recruitment campaign.