Wage payment delays are becoming mass phenomenon in Russia, says Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service

As the financial year draws to a close, Russia's economy is showing signs of systemic strain, and this is reflected in a steep rise in complaints from its citizens about labour rights violations.

Source: Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine in a report

Details: By early December, the number of complaints had surpassed 70,000 – one and a half times higher than last year, according to a report by Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service which cites data from Russia's Federal Service for Labour and Employment.

The biggest rise was seen in complaints about delayed wage payments, with over 26,000 cases, a 60% increase on last year. Complaints about unlawful dismissals have also increased, rising by 33%.

"Wage arrears have emerged as one of the key trends of the year. By the end of October, total arrears had reached 2.2 billion roubles (US$27 million), an increase of almost 11% over the month," the Foreign Intelligence Service said.

Compared with the same period in 2024, the figure has tripled, reaching "its highest level since August 2020", the report says.

"Despite official reports from the Federal State Statistics Service showing economic growth, Russia's economic structure reveals a critical dependence on the military-industrial complex," the intelligence service notes.

Two-thirds of GDP growth this year came from the defence production sector, which operates on a three-shift basis. In the third quarter, out of 0.6% economic growth, 0.4 percentage points were contributed by "public administration and security provision".

The defence industry's contribution to GDP growth has nearly tripled compared with last year, when it accounted for just 1 percentage point out of 4.3% growth.

Meanwhile, corporate profits for the first three quarters of 2025 have fallen by 7.7%, the intelligence service says.

This increases the risk of wage payments being delayed, leading to growing credit indebtedness, problems in the banking sector, and the threat of a broader economic crisis.

As of 1 December, unpaid instalments for new housing had reached RUB 1.5 trillion (about US$18.6 billion), representing 17% of all contracts concluded.

These trends highlight that official GDP growth in Russia is increasingly driven by military spending, while social and economic indicators point to a deepening crisis.

Background:

• It was previously reported that Russians are expected to significantly cut back on spending on New Year celebrations in 2025 due to the difficult economic situation.
• Earlier, Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service reported that Russia's economy is entering a phase of prolonged decline: following the results of the third quarter of 2025, the main problems for businesses were non-payments by counterparties, falling demand and a lack of working capital.
• Previously, the Foreign Intelligence Service also reported that Russians are increasingly pessimistic about the country's economic prospects. The level of pessimism regarding Russia's economy is one of the highest seen in 20 years of observations.
• Meanwhile, according to this year's results, Russia will spend RUB 11.1 trillion (US$138 billion) on the so-called "special military operation", as the war of aggression against Ukraine is referred to in Russian propaganda.
• The Russian government anticipates that the federal budget will remain in deficit for the next two decades. This is evident from a forecast to 2042 released by the Cabinet of Ministers.

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