March 27, 2026

Kremlin Confirms Idea of Oligarchs' Voluntary Contributions to 'SMO'

Kremlin representative Dmitry Peskov commented on information that Vladimir Putin, at a meeting with major businessmen, proposed they make voluntary contributions to the budget to help finance the war in Ukraine. "One of the participants in the meeting did indeed speak about the fact that for the state, he considers it necessary to allocate a certain large, very large sum of money, and this was his family's decision," RBC quoted Peskov as saying. The Kremlin representative did not specify who exactly owns this idea. He added that Putin welcomed such an initiative. The day before, two sources told The Bell that after the congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), Putin held a closed meeting with major businessmen. The continuation of the war in Ukraine and its financing were discussed there. "They said, we will fight," one of the publication's interlocutors paraphrased the essence of Putin's speech. "We will go to the borders of Donbas," another added. After this, Putin proposed that businessmen make voluntary contributions to the budget, both claim. Some oligarchs responded to the request right at the meeting: Suleiman Kerimov promised to contribute 100 billion rubles. According to the Financial Times, Oleg Deripaska also expressed his readiness to make such donations. According to a source at The Bell, the idea to "shake up business in a difficult time for the country" belongs to the head of Rosneft, Igor Sechin. He previously presented it to Putin in a letter. As the Financial Times notes, this is the first time that Russian business will finance the war directly. Before that, the Kremlin preferred to raise taxes. In particular, from January 1, VAT in Russia increased from 20 to 22%.