Help rescue animals from the front line — shop our Companion Collection 🐾

Shop Now
KI short logo

Russia news

What does Russia's rising military budget say about its plans for the war?
Russia

What does Russia's rising military budget say about its plans for the war?

by Karol Luczka

The Russian government began the month by submitting a three-year budget plan to parliament, proposing yet another increase in funding for its war against Ukraine. On the surface, the planned increase looks substantial. Russia's overall military budget is set to rise to around 17 trillion rubles (approximately $200 billion) in 2027, up from 12 trillion rubles in 2026 — a 27% increase in nominal spending. When combined with spending on law enforcement, another heavy budget line, expenditures on

More from Russia

Load More

NewsLetters

News Feed

Wednesday, October 14

Exclusive: Draft EU summit conclusions reveal what leaders will and will not say on Ukraine

BRUSSELS, Belgium — Leaders of the EU's 27 member states have a Ukraine-packed agenda when they meet in Brussels Oct. 15-16, according to the latest draft conclusions of the upcoming meeting seen by the Kyiv Independent. The 25-page document contains six-and-a-half pages of comments specifically on Ukraine, three-and-a-half pages on defense and security, where Ukraine features prominently, and a page on the future of enlargement. Those hoping for a long list of decisions from the European Coun

Futureless Russia

On Sept. 25, a Moscow court sent the political analyst Alexander Kynev to pretrial detention for "large-scale illegal drug production, sale, and trafficking" — a charge that could land him in prison for 10–20 years. But no evidence of Kynev's involvement in illegal drugs has been made public. A leading expert on regional political processes and electoral systems, Kynev has long reported on election fraud in Russia, though he openly supports the New People party, which was launched in 2020 as a

About Russia

The Kyiv Independent’s coverage of news on Russia. Spanning eleven time zones across Eastern Europe and Asia, Russia has an estimated population of 146 million people. Russia’s capital city is Moscow, which is home to almost one in 10 Russians. Russia’s official currency is the Russian Ruble.

Read more

Most Popular

1.
Europe

UK sanctions Dutch businessman exposed by Kyiv Independent for shipping EU machinery to Russian missile suppliers

UK sanctions Dutch businessman exposed by Kyiv Independent for shipping EU machinery to Russian missile suppliers

The U.K. has sanctioned Alexander Tattersall, a Dutch national, and Redwing Metal, the Turkish company he co-owns, nearly four months after a Kyiv Independent investigation revealed the firm had funneled EU-made industrial machinery to Russian metallurgical plants that supply the country's missile and fighter jet manufacturers. Tattersall and Redwing Metal were blacklisted as part of a package of 38 designations announced by the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) on Oct. 8

Editors' Picks

News Feed