Vladimir Putin is set to ramp up military spending next year, according to a draft economic budget for the Russian government.
The Russian leader will preside over a historic high in military spending, with more than £106 billion going towards the country’s military. This amounts to a significant rise of £22 billion from the £84 billion spent on Russia’s military over the past year.
Boris Grozovsky, an expert on Russia’s economy from the Wilson Center think tank, told Newsweek: “The main thing that the draft Russian budget shows is this – Putin has no intention of stopping the war. He is determined to continue and believes he will win in a war of attrition.”
The record-high military spending appears to dismiss any faint Western hopes of a ceasefire in Ukraine. It comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is in the US touting a ‘victory plan’, telling US journalists that the end of the war is closer than many people think.
The huge Russian military investment will take up more than 40 percent of the government’s total budget expenditure.
This means that more money will go towards Russian military forces than the combined spending on education, health, social policy, and the national economy in the country, according to Bloomberg. Nearly one-third of the budget – £104 billion – is classified.
The rise in military spending will be covered by a growth in revenues from oil, gas, VAT, import duties, and taxation of personal and corporate incomes, according to Mr Grozovsky.
The economic expert said that Russia had economic advantages over Ukraine, which heavily relies on Western allies to provide an essential level of weapons.
Mr Grozovsky said: “Putin has no such constraints. The Finance Ministry expects the 2025 budget to be almost deficit-free, despite a 27 percent increase in military spending.”
In 2026 and 2027, Russia plans to decrease defence spending slightly, by 5.6 percent in 2026 and 5.1 percent of GDP in 2027, respectively.
However, spending on security and defence would remain higher than current levels, and several times higher than pre-war levels, suggesting that Putin is locked into a war that could drag on for years.
Last week, he listed defence spending and the integration of occupied Ukrainian territories among the government’s top priorities for the upcoming draft budget.
Meanwhile, the US has announced a new military aid package for Ukraine.
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, confirmed $375m (£280m) in military aid on Wednesday, in a package that includes Himars precision rocket launchers, cluster munitions and light tactical vehicles.
He said: “The United States is committed to Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s brutal aggression.”
