 on defence between January and June, an amount 12 per cent higher than the total military spend targeted for the entirety of 2023 and accounting for 37 per cent of all government outlay in the period. A published budget plan for this year envisages 17.1 per cent of total funds spent on 'national defence'. Russia's annual defence budgets over the past decade have accounted for between 14 to 23 per cent of all government spending. Budget crunch compounded by sanctions Since launching its invasion in February 2022, Moscow has classified most budgetary information, with sector-specific data no longer published and only the most general information made publicly available. In January-June this year, total public spending in Russia was already 2.4 billion rubles (£21 billion) higher than compared with the same period in 2022. The memo cited by Reuters suggested that 97 per cent of all the extra spending went towards Moscow's war effort. Russia used to pride itself on surplus state budgets but has been running a deficit since the start of the invasion. The country's budgetary crunch has been compounded by Western sanctions and a significant decline in export revenues. Public filings suggest that funding for hospitals and schools have been squeezed since the start of the war at the expense of increased defence spending. Russian media outlet RBC on Friday reported that two Russian ministries are wrangling over funding for 170,000 families due to be relocated from remote villages above the Arctic circle as this year's budget all){kind=link}
Defence spending target raised to more than £80 billion despite funding for hospitals and schools being squeezed since start of Ukraine war
Russia has doubled its defence budget for 2023, with its military spending now accounting for a third of all government outlay amid the war in Ukraine.
Moscow raised its defence spending target to more than £80 billion for this year, an internal government memo obtained by Reuters revealed, as the costs of its offensive spiral and place growing strain on Russia’s finances.
The figures show that the Kremlin spent about 5.6 trillion rubles (£46 billion) on defence between January and June, an amount 12 per cent higher than the total military spend targeted for the entirety of 2023 and accounting for 37 per cent of all government outlay in the period.
A published budget plan for this year envisages 17.1 per cent of total funds spent on “national defence”.