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Russia could have built thousands of schools and hospitals for money spent on war

Russia could have built thousands of schools and hospitals for money spent on war Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Author: Maria Kholina

Russia could have built thousands of social infrastructure facilities with the money it is spending on waging war against Ukraine, according to Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba.

He said that according to Forbes Ukraine, Russia has spent approximately $167 billion on the full-scale war against Ukraine from February 2022 to August 2023. This includes direct military expenses and lost equipment. The minister noted that thousands of Russians die every week, but their lives mean nothing to the Kremlin.

Kuleba pointed out that with this money, Moscow could build almost 24.000 kindergartens across Russia, or over 4.500 maternity wards, or around 17.000 schools, or around 1.300 hospitals, or rebuild 20% of all paved roads in Russia.

Instead, Russian war criminals have bombed Ukrainian kindergartens, maternity wards, schools, and hospitals, destroying almost 120.000 civilian structures in all, including the latest attack on Nova Poshta terminal in Kharkiv.

"Putin’s Russia is the most heinous evil the world has witnessed since WWII. Russian aggression against Ukraine has always been the Kremlin’s war of choice. Putin and other Russian perpetrators must face justice for their crimes. They must get out of Ukraine and focus on solving the problems of their own people instead of bringing death and destruction to other nations," the Minister said.

Russia's war expenses

Forbes Ukraine reported that among the largest items of expenditure for the aggressor country were the costs of military operations, military personnel salaries, compensation to the families of the deceased and wounded, and the cost of destroyed equipment.

British intelligence has also indicated that the increase in military spending in Russia would contribute to inflationary pressure.