Russia’s 2027-2029 federal draft budget shows in numbers how the war in Ukraine is reshaping public spending. According to a Euronews report published on 9 October based on budget data, the national cancer programme’s 2027 budget falls from 44.9 billion roubles (about €470.5 million) to 3.87 billion roubles (about €40.5 million), a roughly twelvefold cut. The programme received 148.5 billion roubles in 2025; if the draft becomes law as proposed, federal spending on cancer control will have fallen roughly 38-fold in two years. Although the programme is projected to rise to 5.76 billion roubles in 2028 and 12.78 billion in 2029, those amounts remain far below previous years.
According to UA News, the cut will significantly reduce procurement of hospital equipment, medicines for cancer patients and early-diagnosis programmes. The cuts are not limited to cancer: healthcare for priority groups such as military personnel and people with disabilities falls 17%, and support for medical facilities in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine drops from 8 billion to 522 million roubles; overall federal health spending falls 6% to 1.818 trillion roubles. Russian law guarantees cancer patients free access to the medicines they need, but according to Euronews patients and doctors have long reported procurement delays and regional budget shortfalls, and new data show patients already bearing a growing share of treatment costs out of pocket.
Defence spending, meanwhile, rises in the 2027 draft to 17.1 trillion roubles, about $203 billion. That is roughly 35% of federal expenditure, the highest share since the Soviet Union collapsed. According to the Kyiv Post, Russia had previously budgeted about 13.5 trillion roubles for defence in 2027; the new figure is about 27% higher. The government forecasts some reduction in military spending after 2027, but Russia has repeatedly exceeded its own longer-term defence projections since the full-scale invasion. Tax increases and borrowing are on the agenda to cover the rising military outlays.
More than four years of war have progressively shifted Russia’s public spending towards the military, with civilian programmes such as healthcare and medical infrastructure taking a back seat. The draft is still being debated in the State Duma and may change before it becomes law. Turkey is among the countries with the closest trade and energy ties to Russia, and the Russian economy’s shift onto a war footing directly affects those relations.
The cancer programme falling from 44.9 billion to 3.87 billion roubles, the euro equivalents, the 148.5 billion in 2025, the roughly 38-fold two-year fall, the free-medicine guarantee, procurement delays, rising out-of-pocket costs, 17.1 trillion roubles and the 35% share: Euronews, 9 October 2026; inkl (Euronews), 9 October 2026. The effect on equipment, drugs and early diagnosis, the 17% cut for priority groups, the drop from 8 billion to 522 million in occupied areas and the 6% overall fall to 1.818 trillion: UA News, 1 October 2026. About $203 billion, the earlier 13.5 trillion plan, the 27% increase, exceeded projections and taxes and borrowing: Kyiv Post, 3 October 2026. The 2028 and 2029 projections (5.76 and 12.78 billion roubles): news reports based on budget data, 9 October 2026.
The figures are from a draft budget and may change in the State Duma. The cut is given as roughly twelvefold (against 2026) and 38 to 40-fold (against 2025) depending on the baseline; both are stated with their baseline here. Some sources are Ukraine-based; the core figures are also reported by Euronews. No Russian government comment on the cut appears in the sources. The closing sentence on Turkey is a general assessment.
A statement from the Russian health ministry, whether cancer funding has been moved to other budget lines, and the Duma's voting timetable are not covered here.
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