RT quotes Kyiv on a '$27 billion defense hole'; Vedomosti says Ukraine is '$75bn short' for 2027

Two figures, one day. On 28 September two Russian outlets put a number on the money Ukraine lacks for defence. RT gives $27bn. Vedomosti gives $75bn. We cannot tell whether they measure the same thing.

RT's headline goes further than its text. The headline says "Ukraine admits failure to plug" the gap. The text says Ukraine and its backers "have so far failed" to cover it. "So far" is missing from the headline.

Vedomosti ties its figure to a year. Its headline reads "Украине не хватает $75 млрд на военные расходы в 2027 году", which means Ukraine is $75bn short on military spending in 2027. We hold that headline only, not the article.

What is not settled - Whether $27bn and $75bn count the same thing, or overlap. - Which year, or which budget, RT's $27bn covers. - Whether either figure comes before or after European pledges. - Who gave Vedomosti its figure. - What Ukraine's own government published. We hold no Ukrainian report of either number.

This story is about how much money Ukraine is short of to keep fighting Russia, and who will pay it.

How it got here. Russia seized and annexed Crimea in 2014. The same year a war began in the Donbas, in eastern Ukraine, between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed armed groups. In February 2022 Russia launched a full-scale invasion. The war has gone on ever since.

A war that long costs more than Ukraine's own economy can raise. Since 2022 Kyiv has paid for much of its army from its own taxes and borrowing. Foreign governments have sent weapons, and money to keep the rest of the state running. The United States and European governments have been the largest backers. How long that support lasts, and who pays for it, is argued over in every budget round in Europe.

Who is involved. Ukraine's government draws up the budget and says what it lacks. Its prime minister, named by RT as Sergey Koretsky, speaks for that government. The European Union and its member states are the backers RT names. Ukraine's budget runs by calendar year, and the next year's budget is drafted in the autumn. So each autumn brings a new estimate of the gap.

Both reports we hold come from Russia. RT is funded by the Russian state and is carried here for what the state's media says. Vedomosti is a Moscow business daily.

What is at stake. The size of the gap sets the size of the request. A smaller hole is easier for European governments to fill this winter. A larger one means new loans, new taxes or new ways of raising money. A gap left open means less money for the army.

Where it stands. Two figures are in circulation, $27bn and $75bn. Nothing we hold says what each one counts.