War And Falling Revenue Are Forcing The Kremlin To Sell Off Its Gold Reserves — Intelligence
Russia is currently drawing down its gold reserves to cover a budget deficit growing due to declining oil and gas revenue and increasing state spending. Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service (FISU) reported this, UATV English relays. "In September 2026, the Russian central bank reduced its physical volume of monetary gold for the tenth consecutive month. Over the month, reserves fell by 6.2 tons…
Russia is facing budget deficits due to declining oil and gas revenues and high state spending, forcing the Kremlin to sell off its gold reserves. The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (FISU) revealed that the country's gold reserves fell by 6.2 tons in September 2026, reaching a record low of 2.26 thousand tons. This reduction in physical stockpiles, combined with market price changes, has led to a decline in the dollar value of monetary gold from $333.5 billion in September to $301.6 billion in October.
The budget deficit is exacerbated by the ongoing war against Ukraine and the Kremlin's printing press operations to finance the conflict. FISU reported that as of October 9, Russia's international reserves were valued at $723.5 billion, a 5.9% drop from the start of September. The agency noted that the Kremlin is forced to draw on its reserves to cover spending without resorting to borrowing or tax hikes, although this is limited by international sanctions.
Written by urgent.news from UATV English's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
