Putin is preparing for three more years of war, The Moscow Times reports

Putin prepares a "war budget"

Military spending will remain the top priority as Russia drafts its budget for the next three years, Putin said.

The Russian leader also accused the West of fueling a "Russophobic campaign" and setting "world records" in imposing sanctions. He claimed that no one would ever succeed in "breaking the Russian people."

Putin added that Russia's state institutions are ready to defend the country and, together with society, are capable of delivering a "decisive response to any hostile actions."

Alongside "strengthening the country's defense" as the main budget priority for 2027–2029, the Kremlin leader also promised to finally address key social priorities.

Funds are running short

According to the outlet, Russia's 2026 budget originally allocated 12.9 trillion rubles for "national defense."

In reality, however, military spending is expected to exceed that amount by 4–5 trillion rubles.

According to Bloomberg estimates, to cover all war-related expenses, Russia's Finance Ministry is preparing cuts to civilian spending to fund the war and planning to raise an additional 2–3 trillion rubles through borrowing.

Actual federal spending on the war against Ukraine reached 5.9 trillion rubles in the first quarter alone, according to Janis Kluge, a researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.

Compared with the same period last year, spending on the military and weapons production increased by 29.9%. Compared with the first quarter of 2024, it rose by 68.7%; compared with 2023, by 129%; and compared with the first quarter of 2022, it has increased 4.6-fold.

According to the report, the war against Ukraine has already cost Russian taxpayers 53.079 trillion rubles, or approximately $746.6 billion.

The outlet notes that this amount is equivalent to 28 years of Russia's current healthcare spending or 30 years of education spending.

Social programs remain unfunded

The growing emphasis on defense and security has forced the Russian government to take a "selective approach" to financing other sectors, said Emil Ablaev, a leading analyst at the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting.

According to Ablaev, last year, budget revenues fell 3 trillion rubles short of targets, and the crisis has deepened this year.

Russia's Finance Ministry raised VAT to 22%, but the budget deficit had already reached nearly 6 trillion rubles by the end of the first half of the year.

By the end of the year, the gap in Russia's federal budget could widen to as much as 7 trillion rubles, the expert says.

Earlier, Putin signed another decree expanding the size of Russia's armed forces. The Russian Armed Forces will increase by 27,000 personnel starting August 1.

Russian officials have also claimed there is no need to announce a new mobilization because the country has enough "volunteers" to continue the war against Ukraine.