Russia to spend at least USD 18.6 million to celebrate May 9 - CCD

The aggressor state of russia will spend at least USD 18.6 million to celebrate the russian holiday Victory Day on May 9.

This was announced by the Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD) under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.

"At least RUB 1.5 billion (USD 18.6 million) will be spent on the celebration of "Victory Day" in the russian federation. And this is not counting the 12 russian regions, data on which is not available in the russian state procurement service. Therefore, the final amount for the "holiday" will be much higher," the report says.

The department noted that in the meantime, russia's budget deficit this year will exceed the planned figure three times, reaching almost RUB 4 trillion (USD 44 billion). Also, according to the department, the country is experiencing a decline in industry, high inflation, a crisis in the banking system, construction, etc.

"The Kremlin is spending enormous amounts of money on its main propaganda campaign, despite serious economic problems that continue to grow amid huge war spending and sanctions. … The russian authorities continue to pour millions of dollars into the cult of the "great victory" with the sole purpose of maintaining the level of hatred in order to continue waging war against Ukraine," the CCD concluded.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called on all foreign states to refrain from sending their military personnel to the parade in Moscow on May 9.