Russia is betting on war again: Putin names the budget’s main priority

Vladimir Putin has said that military spending will remain the top priority of Russia’s budget for the next three years. At the same time, experts say that there is no longer enough money to finance the war, forcing the Kremlin to cut civilian spending and increase debt.

This is reported by The Moscow Times.

During his speech to the deputies of the 8th convocation of the State Duma, Putin stated that the budget for 2027-2029 will primarily be aimed at “strengthening the country’s defense.” In addition, he traditionally accused the West of “Russophobia” and assured that Russia would not be “broken.”

Despite this, the financial situation remains difficult. As the publication notes, in the 2026 budget, the government has allocated 12.9 trillion rubles for the “National Defense” item, but actual spending may exceed the planned by another 4-5 trillion rubles.

According to Bloomberg, in order to cover military spending, the Russian Ministry of Finance is preparing to reduce funding for civilian programs and plans to raise another 2-3 trillion rubles through additional borrowing.

According to Janis Kluge, a researcher at the German Institute for International Security Studies, Russia spent 5.9 trillion rubles on the war against Ukraine in the first quarter of this year alone. This is almost 30% more than in the same period last year, and 4.6 times more than in the first quarter of 2022.

Overall, the newspaper estimates that the war has already cost Russian taxpayers more than 53 trillion rubles, equivalent to about $747 billion. This amount would be enough to fund healthcare or education systems for almost three decades at current spending levels.

Experts also draw attention to the deterioration of the state of Russian public finances. Leading expert of the Central Committee of the Russian Federation for Economic and Social Development Emil Ablaev notes that budget revenues are lagging behind the plan, and the deficit has already reached almost 6 trillion rubles in the first half of the year. According to his forecast, it could grow to 7 trillion rubles by the end of the year.

As a reminder, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin signed a decree to increase the number of personnel in the Russian Armed Forces. It will amount to 2,426,130 people, of which 1,535,000 are military personnel.