German Intelligence: Russia Hiding True Economic Cost of War

Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND) accuses Moscow of downplaying the true economic cost of the war in Ukraine. According to the BND, the Russian budget deficit is significantly larger than official figures suggest.

In a LinkedIn post, the BND states that Western sanctions have affected the Russian economy, coupled with reduced revenues from oil and gas exports due to falling global prices.

The BND estimates the Russian federal budget deficit at 8.01 trillion rubles, while the official figure is 5.65 trillion rubles, equivalent to 2.6% of GDP. The BND has not provided detailed calculations on how it arrived at this figure.

The Kremlin, for its part, acknowledges the difficulties but insists on the country's macroeconomic stability.

A source close to the Russian government told Reuters that Russia's budget situation is deteriorating.