Russian Defense Spending To Increase 43%

Servicemen the 31st landing assault brigade of the Russia's Parachute Troops © Alexey Kudenko © Sputnik  

Bloomberg: Putin Readies 43% Defense Spending Hike Amid Plan for Longer War 

(Bloomberg) -- President Vladimir Putin is looking to spend far more on the military in the next two years than initially planned as Russia tailors the budget to the needs of a longer and increasingly costly war in Ukraine. 

 Defense expenditure is now set to exceed next year’s initial budget assumptions by more than 43%, while the related category of national security and law enforcement will go up by over 40%, according to a three-year fiscal plan seen by Bloomberg. 

Fiscal projections are in flux as priorities become skewed in favor of the military and away from areas like environmental protection. 

At almost 5 trillion rubles ($84 billion), or 3.3% of gross domestic product, outlays on “national defense” are now second to the government’s social programs as a share of spending.  

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Update #1: Amid Ukraine war, Putin hikes defence spending by 43%, police budget by 40% (Hindustan Times)  

Update #2: Russia to spend $600 bln on defence and security by 2025 - source (Reuters)  

WNU Editor: The Russian economy is rapidly becoming a wartime economy, and if this budget allocation is any indication, the expectation is that this will be the case for at least 2 years.