Russia Has Allocated $1.85 Billion to Foreign Propaganda in 2026, Up 50% on Last Year

Russia’s budget for information influence operations abroad has reached a record $1.85 billion in 2026, a 50% increase on the previous year, according to a senior Ukrainian official.

Russia is pumping record funding into foreign propaganda as it shifts its information warfare strategy from traditional influence operations toward what officials describe as cognitive warfare. The figures were cited by Verkhovna Rada Deputy Chairwoman Olena Kondratiuk at the Fourth International Scientific and Practical Conference on Strategic Communications in Wartime, as reported by the Odessa Journal.

“A simple but telling fact: in 2026, Russia reached a record level of funding for information influence abroad. The Russian Federation allocated $1 billion 850 million to the information sector alone in this year’s budget. Incidentally, this is 50% more than in 2025,” Kondratiuk said.

The funding covers a broad infrastructure of influence: networks of “Russian Houses”, loyal organisations, information platforms, and offices maintained across European capitals. The primary targets are EU and NATO member states, where the campaign is designed to foster distrust and provoke internal political crises.

Following the tightening of EU sanctions, Russia has adapted its methods, according to data from Ukrainian foreign intelligence cited by Kondratiuk. One documented shift involves the creation of duplicate websites that carry pro-Kremlin content without openly Russian branding.

The strategic narratives driving the external campaign are consistent across platforms. “Europe is tired of the war.” “Europe is tired of Ukraine.” “Europe is tired of helping Ukraine.” “Russia cannot be isolated” and “peace is needed, but it is Ukraine that does not want reconciliation” — these are the core messages Russia is systematically pushing across European information spaces, Kondratiuk said.

The broader ambition, she argued, goes beyond winning over audiences. “Its goal is not necessarily to make people support Russia but to convince them to stop believing anyone at all,” the deputy speaker said.

Ukraine has built a counter-system that spans special services, intelligence agencies, the Centre for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defence Council, the Armed Forces’ StratCom unit, the Centre for Strategic Communications under the Ministry of Culture, media organisations, and civil society groups.