Russian Defence Spending To Surge As Kremlin Prepares For ‘Multiple Years’ Of War In Ukraine

Russia is set to dramatically increase the amount of money it spends on defence as the country prepares for “multiple years” of war in Ukraine, according UK intelligence.

The Ministry of Defence’s latest intelligence update on the war said documents apparently leaked from the Russian finance ministry shows its military spending will reach 30% of all public expenditure in 2024.

“The ministry proposes a defence budget of 10.8 trillion roubles (£91.7 billion), equivalent to approximately 6 per cent of GDP and a 68 per cent increase over 2023,” the MoD said.

To put that in context, the UK spends around 2% of its GDP on defence. In 2021/22, that worked out at around £45bn.

The MoD said Russia’s military spending splurge will come “at the expense of the wider economy”.

“Full details on Russian defence spending are always classified, but these figures suggests that Russia is preparing for multiple further years of fighting in Ukraine,” they said.

“This follows public comments by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on 27 September 2023, suggesting he was prepared for the conflict to continue into 2025.”

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 in a “special military operation” that Vladimir Putin believed would be over in days.

Moscow is believed to have suffered more than 200,000 casualties during the conflict, forcing them to recruit troops from neighbouring countries.