Putin Breaks New Record In Post-Cold War Era As Pressure Builds Over Ukraine Conflict

Vladimir Putin has just hiked up defence spending in Russia to its highest level since the Cold War.

The Russian president plans to push national defence up by 25% for 2025, taking it to 6.3% of gross domestic product, according to draft budget documents reported by Reuters.

It means defence spending will be at 13.5 trillion roubles (£108 billion) next year, and account for 32% of the total budget.

That’s twice the amount Russia currently allocates to social needs, like pensions.

About a tenth of the total defence spending goes on paying military personnel.

According to Reuters, the minimum wage of troops on the frontline also just hit a new post-Soviet high, with servicemen reaching salaries of up to 3.25 million roubles (£26,107) in their first year.

Putin just called for his army to be expanded, too, saying he needs 180,000 extra troops.

That would mean Russia had 1.5m active servicemen, and making it the second largest army in the world after China.

Putin has also ordered the conscription of 133,000 new servicemen – aged between 18 and 30 – for their annual draft that starts this month.

In a sign of just how the Ukraine war has intensified recently, last year’s draft budget showed the Kremlin wanted to cut back on defence spending by 21% in 2025.

And, when the Ukraine war started in 2022, Moscow spent a comparably low amount – 5.5 trillion roubles – on defence.

Still, the draft budget suggests defence spending will drop to 12.8 trillion roubles in 2026.

National security is also expected to go up to 3.5 trillion roubles in 2025, meaning costs of defence and security will cost to a staggering amount – more than 40% of total expenditure.

The Soviet Union spent a similar amount while fighting in Afghanistan and maintaining its nuclear weapons during the Cold War.

These changes come after Ukraine’s forces launched a surprise incursion into the Russian region of Kursk.

The troops are still occupying the 1,000 sq km area almost two months later, despite Putin’s pledges to the Russian public that he would kick the Ukrainian troops out.

While Russia’s new conscripts are not sent to the frontline in Ukraine, the UK’s Ministry of Defence has claimed that they are deployed to tackle their opponents in the Kursk region without much training, while more experienced soldiers try to claim more Ukrainian land in the Donbas.