Russia's military spending in the 2025 budget will exceed the initially planned level by almost 20%. This was announced by Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov during a meeting of the ministry's board, reports The Moscow Times.
Photo: Sergey Bobylev / Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP
According to Belousov, the total expenditures of the Ministry of Defense will reach 7.3% of the gross domestic product, amounting to about 15.9 trillion Russian rubles (about 197 billion US dollars). This is 2.4 trillion rubles (about 29 billion) more than was provided for in the 2025 budget (6.2% of GDP, or 13.5 trillion rubles (about 162 billion rubles)).
Compared to 2024, the military budget grew by almost one and a half times, and compared to 2021, it increased by 4.5 times.
Expenditures directly related to the war in Ukraine will amount to 5.1% of GDP, or about 11.1 trillion rubles (about 133.2 billion US dollars). On average, this is approximately 213 billion rubles (2.56 billion US dollars) per week — an amount comparable to the annual budget of large Russian regions. Belousov announced these figures in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
At the same time, the minister noted that military expenditures not related to combat operations were reduced from 2.7% of GDP in 2024 to 2.2% in 2025, due to cuts and the relocation of some programs. However, the part of the budget related to the "special military operation" significantly increased.
For 2026, Russian authorities plan to allocate 12.93 trillion rubles (155.16 billion US dollars) for "defense", which will amount to about 5.5% of the projected GDP. If expenditures on national security are also taken into account, then the total spending on the military, police, and special services will reach 16.84 trillion rubles (about 202 billion US dollars) — which is about 38% of all state budget expenditures.
Ihar Losik recounted how he was held in the KGB pre-trial detention center with a former delegate of the All-Belarusian People's Assembly — a police colonel who, while drunk, almost killed his wife 22
Comments