Russia will spend less on payments to World War II veterans by May 9 than the cost of one X-22 or Iskander missile, while the Kremlin is spending ten times more on parades and propaganda events. The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine (SVR) reported this on May 10.
According to intelligence data, this year federal payments to direct participants in World War II in the Russian Federation will amount to only 10 thousand rubles (5.9 thousand UAH) per person. In total, there are approximately 7 thousand veterans of this category left in Russia, so the total amount of payments will be approximately 70 million rubles.
The SVR notes that the Kremlin has traditionally shifted possible additional payments to the regions, subject to the availability of funds in local budgets.
At the same time, the service emphasized that the amount of assistance to veterans is actually equal to the cost of one X-22 or Iskander cruise missile, which Russia regularly fires at Ukraine.
But organizing the annual parade on Red Square in Moscow costs the Russian budget 400–600 million rubles, and in anniversary years expenses can reach 1.5 billion rubles. Separately, tens of millions are sent to regional celebrations, intelligence officials note.
“For the Kremlin, PR on “victory” is more expensive than the veterans themselves. Against the backdrop of pompous preparations in Russia for May 9, endless bravura speeches about an “unforgettable feat” and caring for memory for future generations, the reality looks much more prosaic,” the SRZ emphasized.
The service also provided a comparison with other countries of the former USSR. In particular, in Kazakhstan, on the anniversary of the Victory, veterans will be paid up to 1 million rubles in conversion, in Uzbekistan – 800-900 thousand, in Kyrgyzstan – more than 200 thousand, in Belarus – approximately 136 thousand, in Tajikistan – approximately 60 thousand, and in Azerbaijan – almost 21 thousand rubles.
“For modern Russia, veterans are just a convenient decoration. According to the plan, [нелегитимного президента России Владимира] Putin, the Russian Federation on its own, without the participation of other republics of the former USSR, would have repelled the invasion of invaders in 1941 and defeated Nazism. But the Kremlin’s desire to monopolize the right to victory does not correspond to real concern for the participants of the last war,” the SZR added.
