Vladimir Putin is preparing for the long game with his so called “special military operation” as the Kremlin has proposed a defence budget of £91.7 billion.
The British Ministry of Defence (MoD) has warned on Sunday that Russia is preparing for “multiple years of fighting.”
The MOD’s latest intelligence report says that leaked documents from the Russian Finance Ministry shows the military expenditure will hit 30% in 2024, which will come from the Russian people’s pockets.
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The MoD said Putin’s spending spree will come “at the expense of the wider economy.”
MoD said, “Documents, apparently leaked from Russia’s Finance Ministry, suggests that Russia’s defence spending is set to surge to approximately 30% of the total public expenditure in 2024.
“The ministry proposes a defence budget of 10.8 trillion roubles (£91.7 billion), equivalent to approximately 6% of GDP and a 68% increase over 2023.”
The UK spends around 2% of its GDP on defence. In 2021/22, which works out to be at around £45 billion.
The MoD added, “It is highly likely that Russia can support this level of defence spending through 2024, but only 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.
“This follows public comments by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on 27 September 2023, suggesting he was prepared for the conflict to continue into 2025.”
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