UK aid cuts take 40% from funds to counter Russian threat in western Balkans

A woman outside a polling station at a Russian school in Belgrade, Serbia, during the Russian presidential election last year. Photograph: Darko Vojinović/AP

Keir Starmer’s raid on overseas aid has led to a 40% cut in funds for countering Russian aggression and misinformation in a region of Europe described by the prime minister as vital to the UK’s national security.

British funding committed to bolstering the western Balkans, where Russia has been accused of sowing division and creating destabilisation, has been cut from £40m last year to £24m for 2025-26.