{
  "id": 1773272,
  "title": "Russian companies made record $4.5 billion in “voluntary” payments to the state budget after Putin’s call to “chip in” for war in Ukraine",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/russian-companies-made-record-4-5-billion-in-voluntary-payments-to",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-18T18:46:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Insider",
    "slug": "the-insider",
    "url": "https://theins.press/en/news/296179"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Russian companies contributed a record $4.5 billion to the state budget in voluntary payments since the beginning of the year, according to the Kremlin-aligned business newspaper Vedomosti. This figure, reported through Russia's electronic budget system, surpassed the initial budget projections by a significant margin. The surge in donations followed Vladimir Putin's suggestion during a closed-door meeting with major business owners, which came after discussions about financing the ongoing war in Ukraine. The level of such voluntary contributions was already 50% higher than that of all of 2025 by the first seven and a half months of 2026. In the initial months of 2026, organizations transferred 15.6 billion rubles to the government budget alone, a staggering increase from the 15.6 billion rubles transferred at the end of April. By the end of June, the total had reached 294.4 billion rubles, marking a 30% increase from July to the first half of August. These unprecedented contributions have now surpassed the proceeds from Russia's one-time windfall tax, which collected 318.8 billion rubles. The rise in non-tax revenue has occurred as Russia's deficit widens, reaching 6.455 trillion rubles, or 2.8% of GDP, in the first seven months of 2026, exceeding the full-year target.",
  "summary": "Non-tax revenue payments from businesses to Russia’s federal budget have reached a record 383.69 billion rubles (over $4.5 billion) since the start of the year, according to the Kremlin-aligned business newspaper Vedomosti , which cited data from Russia’s electronic budget system. The main flow of money began after March, when Vladimir Putin, at a closed-door meeting with major business owners,…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post",
        "title": "Ukraine vows to respond after Russian strike kills 10 in northeast region",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/ukraine-vows-to-respond-after-russian-strike-kills-10-in-northeast",
        "published": "2026-08-18T09:30:25.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "CBC News",
        "title": "Russian missile attack in Kharkiv kills at least 10, as Ukraine keeps up drone attacks in Moscow",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/russian-missile-attack-in-kharkiv-kills-at-least-10-as-ukraine-keeps",
        "published": "2026-08-18T11:02:53.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Kyiv Independent",
        "title": "Belgium open to using frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine if Europe shares risks",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/belgium-open-to-using-frozen-russian-assets-to-help-ukraine-if-europe",
        "published": "2026-08-18T15:38:47.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Insider",
        "title": "Russian missile strike hits center of Pechenihy in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv Region, killing 10 and wounding 17",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/russian-missile-strike-hits-center-of-pechenihy-in-ukraines",
        "published": "2026-08-18T18:43:12.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}