Putin Readies 43% Defense Spending Hike Amid Plan for Longer War
- Russia envisions bigger military outlays than first budgeted
- Shifting priorities reflect increasing cost of war in Ukraine
A Russian T-80 battle tank.
Photographer: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images
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President Vladimir Putin is looking to spend far more on the military in the next two years than initially planned as Russia tailors the budget to the needs of a longer and increasingly costly war in Ukraine.
Defense expenditure is now set to exceed next year’s initial budget assumptions by more than 43%, while the related category of national security and law enforcement will go up by over 40%, according to a three-year fiscal plan seen by Bloomberg.