An analysis dated October 7 by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in the United Kingdom estimates that Russia’s hostile activities cost the country approximately 2-2.5 billion pounds per year. This figure, dubbed the “Putin tax,” is presented not as a definitive balance sheet but as a preliminary estimate. The study raises the question of why, while the UK calculates the cost of sanctions on Russia, the bill that Russia imposes is not calculated with the same systematic approach.
The cost is not limited to defense spending; cyberattacks, acts of sabotage, and threats to critical infrastructure are also included in the bill. In 2024, the damage from the Russia-linked arson attack in Leyton, London, amounted to approximately 1 million pounds, while the cost of the police investigation into drone incidents around RAF Lakenheath exceeded 600 thousand pounds. According to the Cyber Monitoring Centre, the cost to the economy of the cyberattack on Jaguar Land Rover is 1.9 billion pounds; the damage extends to suppliers, employees, and customers.
The analysis points out that concepts such as “hybrid threat” complicate economic calculation and that Russia-linked criminal groups cannot always be distinguished from state operations.
Background
Putin is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: we have published 4 news stories mentioning this name in the last 90 days; the most recent is dated October 7, 2026.