Russian servisemen drive T-72 main battle tanks during a parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the World War Two in the Far Eastern city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia, September 2, 2015. REUTERS/Sergei Krasnoukhov
Reuters: Russia will cut defense budget by 5 percent in 2016, RIA reports
Russia’s defense budget will be cut by 5 percent in 2016, Russian Deputy Defence Minister Tatiana Shevtsova said, according to the RIA news agency.
Defense spending has been growing as part of a drive by President Vladimir Putin to restore Russia’s military might. The decision to cut shows, however, that even the armed forces are not immune to a slowing Russian economy, which has been hit by falling oil prices and Western sanctions.
The 5 percent cut, if approved by Putin, would be the biggest reduction in defense spending since he took office in 2000.
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Update: Russian Defense Budget to Be Cut by 5%, Not 10% -- Sputnik
WNU Editor: Russian President Putin will have to approve this cut ... but if he does it is another indication on how bad the Russian economy is, and his worries on where this is heading.
1 comment:
Everyone is cutting defense budgets right now... the question is what gets cut.
I have a feeling the Russians will be better about cutting expensive projects and focusing on their strengths than the heavily-lobbied US military. The F-35 and the Abrams the Army doesn't want will get their money whether or not they are needed.
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