{
  "id": 1737871,
  "title": "+++ Ukraine-Krieg +++: Russische Firmen spenden offenbar Milliarden für Krieg",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/ukraine-krieg-russische-firmen-spenden-offenbar-milliarden-fur-krieg",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-18T15:29:45.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Handelsblatt",
    "slug": "handelsblatt",
    "url": "https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/international/ukraine-krieg-russische-firmen-spenden-offenbar-milliarden-fuer-krieg/27982126.html"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "As military expenditures for the ongoing war against Ukraine continue to rise, Russian benefactors responded to a call for donations and funneled billions into the national treasury, according to a media report. By mid-August, 383.69 billion rubles (approximately 3.9 billion euros) in voluntary contributions had been pumped into the budget, reported the Russian business newspaper \"Wedomosti.\" This amount was said to be one and a half times more than the entire 2025 budget. The sum far exceeded all expectations. Most of the funds flowed after a call to entrepreneurs in March, according to the newspaper citing the Ministry of Finance. Not only large corporations, but also individuals, corporate or family foundations, could contribute, explained Alexander Schochin, the head of the Russian Industrial and Entrepreneurial Association to the newspaper. Each major donor decides on their own voluntary contribution based on their own financial situation. What exactly the money is spent on is unclear. However, the Russian budget faces a large deficit due to the ever-increasing spending on Putin's war against Ukraine for the past four and a half years. \"Wedomosti\" suggested that the government might introduce an additional tax for the financial sector in the fall to raise even more money. To finance the war, Putin had already allowed for an increase in income and value-added tax. In the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa, at least nine people were reported injured by Russian attacks. Regional Military Administrator Oleh Kiper wrote on Telegram that \"the enemy continues to terrorize the civilian population in the Odessa region.\" According to the Ukrinform agency, Russian drone strikes hit a restaurant and several private houses in Odessa. A Russian court sentenced the prominent Russian opposition figure and opposition party member Lev Shlosberg to eleven years and one month in a labor camp in a controversial case. The judge found the Vice-Chairman of the liberal opposition party Yabloko guilty of libeling Russian forces. The sentence fell short of the prosecutor's request for twelve years and one month. Shlosberg plans to appeal the verdict, as his liberal party Jabloko announced. The state Russian Development Bank VEB reportedly fired its chief economist after he criticized the economic situation and the war in Ukraine, according to insiders. Two people familiar with the matter told Reuters that Andrei Klepatsch had criticized Russia's inability to compete with the West and China, and blamed the war for increased economic damage. Klepatsch noted that Russia was not only falling behind China and the US, but also struggling against Ukraine itself. Klepatsch made these remarks on the Nikitski-Club website, a forum for economists and government officials, which became known to Russian media only last week. \"We are falling behind. We are losing the technological and economic competition in the world,\" Klepatsch stated. \"And we are not only losing it to China and the US. In a sense, we are losing it to Ukraine as well.\" Klepatsch blamed the financial support provided by the West to Kiev for this. \"We will not win the competition in this suffocating war. We have the illusion that everything will collapse there. It hasn't collapsed and won't collapse. Our costs are rising.\"",
  "summary": "Moskau mit Hunderten Drohnen attackiert +++ Zehn Tote nach russischem Raketenangriff im Gebiet Charkiw +++ Chefvolkswirt von Staatsbank nach Kriegskritik entlassen +++ Der Newsblog.",
  "key_points": [
    "Russian firms donated $3.9 billion to Ukraine war efforts by mid-August",
    "Contributions exceeded 2025 budget and surpassed expectations",
    "Russian Development Bank fired economist for criticizing war impact"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}