A document published by the official website of Decrees and Laws in Russia, on Sunday, showed that President Vladimir Putin approved a budget focusing on military spending for the period from 2025 to 2027, as the war against Ukraine continues.
The state budget for next year includes a 25% increase in military spending, and this budget will be the most secret in the history of post-Soviet Russia, as Russian citizens will not be able to scrutinize nearly a third of its total spending.
Defense spending
The budget allocated about 32.5% of spending for national defense, equivalent to 13.5 trillion rubles (more than $145 billion), compared to 28.3% this year.
The government says the needs of what Moscow calls a special military operation in Ukraine and support for the army will remain a budget priority, along with social needs and technological development.
The government described the draft budget as “balanced,” expecting the deficit to decrease to 0.5%, compared to an expected deficit this year of 1.7%.
Representatives of both chambers of the Russian Parliament have already approved the plans over the past 10 days.