Russian finance minister: Ukraine war is Moscow’s main budget priority
The main priority for Russia’s budget for the next three years is strengthening the country’s military and “supporting participants” of its war against Ukraine, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Oct. 3, as cited by Forbes Russia.
Russia plans to spend 10.77 trillion rubles (around $107 billion) on its military in 2024, which is twice as much in 2023 and three times more than in 2021, before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Next year's military spending will become Moscow's largest budget item for the first time, surpassing social policies, Forbes Russia wrote.
Francis Farrell
"The resources planned for next year make it possible to fully meet the objectives of the special military operation (all-out war against Ukraine)," Siluanov said at a budget hearing before the upper house of Russia's parliament.
The Kremlin also plans to allocate about $661 million for the production of drones to ensure over 40% of Russian drones are manufactured domestically, according to the finance minister.
On Sept. 15, the Ukrainian government approved the draft budget for 2024, under which over half of all funds will be spent on security and defense.
Ukraine's defense expenditures for 2024 amount to around $45.6 billion, which is $3 billion more than this year.
Tetiana Khutor
