Russia faces a massive wave of defaults on the bond market – SZRU
Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service has stated that the Russian corporate bond market is rapidly heading towards a wave of widespread defaults due to the deteriorating economic situation.
According to intelligence reports, as returns on bank deposits have fallen, Russians have begun investing heavily in bonds in the hope of higher returns. At the same time, experts are warning of the risk of losing savings.
“According to analysts’ estimates, around 25% of the Russian bond market is already at risk of default. This means that a significant proportion of investors may receive neither interest nor a return on their investment in the event of the issuing companies going bankrupt,” the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine noted.
The intelligence service also reported that the trend towards rising defaults in Russia is intensifying. In the first quarter of 2026 alone, 11 bankruptcies were recorded among companies that had issued bonds. The same number of defaults occurred throughout the whole of 2024, whilst 24 were recorded in 2025.
The FIS stated that the deterioration of the situation is linked to the consequences of the war and Russia’s economic exhaustion.
“The Russian Central Bank’s high key rate makes loans for businesses excessively expensive, whilst tax pressure, rising VAT and falling consumer demand only exacerbate the crisis. In 2026, Russian companies will also have to repay up to 6.6 trillion roubles in debt, which places a critical strain on their finances,” the intelligence report noted.
