Russian state expenditure on national defense is set to rise by 23% in 2025, reaching 13.5 trillion roubles (145.32 billion dollars), up from 10.8 trillion roubles in 2024, figures showed after the Russian government on Monday submitted its draft budget to the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, for review.
Russia has already ramped up its military spending over the past two years to support military operations in Ukraine.
The Kremlin has largely redirected its economy toward war efforts, upgrading its armed services and hiring thousands of new forces.
In 2024, Russia’s spending on defense increased by almost 70% compared to the previous year, representing 8.7% of GDP, according to President Vladimir Putin, in a precedent in modern Russian history.
According to the Finance Ministry, the priorities of the budget include social support for the people, a financial support for defense and security of the country, in addition to funding for technological leadership.
The Ministry said federal spending will grow to 41.500 trillion roubles (around $446 billion) in 2025, almost 12% more than this year.
It then showed how the funds will be allocated. “Funds have already been earmarked for supplying weapons and military equipment to the Armed Forces, the payment of monetary allowances and support for our defense enterprises,” it said.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “All of President Putin’s instructions are reflected in this draft budget,” without further details, according to AFP.
In mid-September, Putin has confirmed that defense spending will remain a priority in the country's new budget.
In a sign that military spending will not decrease in the coming months, the Russian President ordered the country’s military to increase its number of troops by 15% to a total of 1.5 million.
