Stand behind Ukrainian independent journalism when it’s needed most. Help us reach 20,000 members.

Skip to content
Edit post

Putin approves Russia's budget with record spending on national defense

by Kateryna Hodunova December 1, 2024 12:19 PM 2 min read
Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a ceremony floating out the new Project 22220 Class nuclear-powered icebreaker Chukotka, held at the Baltic Shipyards in Saint Petersburg, via a videoconference in Moscow on Nov. 6, 2024. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the Russian budget on Dec. 1, which plans for record levels military spending over the next three years.

The Russian State Duma, the lower house of Russia's parliament, passed the law on the federal budget for 2025 and the planning period of 2026-2027 in November.

According to the law signed by Putin, in 2025, national defense spending will reach a record 13.5 trillion rubles ($126 billion), more than 6% of Russia's GDP.

Spending on war and law enforcement agencies exceeds expenditures on education, healthcare, social policy, and the national economy combined.

The new three-year budget envisages that military spending will be slightly lower in 2026-2027: 12.8 trillion rubles ($114.9 billion) in 2026 and 13.1 trillion rubles ($122.4 billion) in 2027.

The total expenditures of the Russian budget next year are planned at 41.47 trillion rubles ($387.3 billion), accounting for 19.3% of GDP. This is 1.17 trillion rubles ($15.9 billion) more than the expected revenues.

The budget deficit is expected to be 2.18 trillion rubles ($20.3 billion) and 2.76 trillion rubles ($25.8 billion), respectively, in 2026 and 2027.

On Nov. 28, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed law on Ukraine's own state budget for 2025.

The budget for 2025 envisages spending Hr 2.2 trillion ($53 billion) on Ukraine's defense, which is 26.3% of the country's projected gross domestic product (GDP).

On Nov. 12, Strategic Industries Minister Herman Smetanin said the budget envisages Hr 55 billion ($1.3 billion) for weapons production.

Some Hr 54.55 billion ($1.3 billion) will be directly allocated for the development and implementation of new technologies and the expansion of defense production capacity, according to Smetanin.

The minister added that the 2025 figure is almost Hr 3.5 billion ($84.4 million) more than in 2024.

Can Russia sustain its war effort as ruble plummets, inflation soars?
With the purchasing power of the Russian ruble hitting the lowest point since March 2022, the economic toll of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine becomes glaring. Russia’s expanding spending on the war has fueled inflation, prompting Russia’s Central Bank to hike its interest rate to the highest le…

Independent journalism needs a community —
not a paywall.

We’re working hard to show the world the truth of Russia’s brutal war — and we’re keeping it free for everyone, because reliable information should be available to all.

Our goal: reach 20,000 members to prove independent journalism can survive without paywalls, billionaires, or compromise. Will you help us do it?

Can we reach 20,000 members?

News Feed

10:06 AM

Russian attacks against Ukraine kill 7, injure 42 over past day.

Ukrainian forces downed 60 out of the 112 drones, including Shahed-type attack drones, launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force reported. Fifteen drones were intercepted by electronic warfare or disappeared from radars without causing any damage, according to the statement.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.