Russia Boosts Foreign Propaganda Budget by 54% to Record $1.85 Billion

Russia allocated a record $1.85 billion for foreign propaganda operations in its 2026 federal budget, a 54% increase from the previous year, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service in a response to Liga.net on May 9.

Ukraine's intelligence agency disclosed the figure in response to a Liga.net query, attributing the spending to Moscow's information sector. The agency stated that the funds bankroll the systemic promotion of Russian narratives in European capitals such as Brussels, Vienna, and Luxembourg.

According to the intelligence service, the budget sustains Russian state offices abroad, finances networks of "Russian Houses,"  supports loyal foreign organizations, and launches new information platforms.

Investigators noted that after the European Union adopted its 20th sanctions package, which targeted pro-Russian media, Kremlin operators began rolling out mirror sites stripped of overtly pro-Russian sloganeering. The reworked outlets often feature interviews with European academics who claim they are being pushed out of their posts for calling for peace with Russia.

The "peace" messaging is meant to "create a suffering image" of Russia and frame Ukraine as the party blocking an end to the war, according to the intelligence service. Investigators also cited recycled Kremlin lines portraying Europe as weary of the war and arguing that Moscow cannot be isolated.

The disclosure landed as Moscow ramped up propaganda activity around its May 9 commemorations, with intelligence officials pointing to the proliferation of what they described as pseudo-Ukrainian fronts abroad ostensibly campaigning for peace.

Read more

Category

Anti-Fake

20 Years of RT: How Russia’s Propaganda Hydra Survived the Ban

Nov 05, 2025 18:34

The propaganda allocation feeds into a broader pattern of hybrid activity that European security services have tracked across the continent, as German security officials had already warned that Russian-Eurasian organized crime networks were becoming a growing concern in Moscow-linked hostile activity across Europe, according to Spiegel.

The assessment pointed to criminal intermediaries allegedly used for sabotage, intimidation, and targeted attacks while helping Moscow obscure direct responsibility.

The concern followed earlier suspected Russian operations on European soil, including the 2019 Tiergarten killing in Berlin and a DHL parcel incendiary device in Leipzig in 2024. German authorities have treated such cases as part of a wider pattern of covert activity linked to Russian intelligence or proxy structures.

Spiegel reported that officials saw mafia-style networks as useful because they could recruit people outside formal intelligence channels and operate across borders. The model also made investigations harder, as suspects could appear to be ordinary criminals rather than state-directed actors.

On the Frontline of Truth

Our reporters work on the frontlines to show what’s really happening in Ukraine. Your support helps them keep reporting.

SUPPORT