A draft budget submitted to the Russian parliament last month has outlined the Kremlin's plans to keep spending high in its wartime economy, with ambitions to maintain the steady levels of growth the country has seen since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Surging government spending on war and defense production prompted the International Monetary Fund on Oct. 22 to increase its 2024 growth forecast for Russia to 3.6%. The three-year budget, which plans to further hike mili

Ever since Ukraine launched a lightning incursion deep into Russia territory in early August, Yan, a local resident in the city of Kursk, has been volunteering at a local drop-off point, helping to distribute clothes and bedding. "The number of people arriving at the humanitarian aid points every week is increasing," Yan, his full name withheld so as to speak freely, told the Kyiv Independent. "Now, with the cold weather setting in, the need for warm clothes and insulated bedding has become ver