Russian President Vladimir Putin has earmarked a third of total government spending for the defense budget as the Russia-Ukraine conflict drains the resources of both sides nearly three years after it began.
Russia's 2025 budget allocates about $126 billion (13.5 trillion rubles) to defense — 32.5 percent of government spending.
The defense budget is about $28 billion (3 trillion rubles) higher than the previous record set this year.
The next three-year budget forecasts a slight decrease in military spending in 2026 and 2027. Lawmakers in both houses of the Russian parliament have approved the budget.
Russia’s war in Ukraine is the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II. Moscow is now winning key points along the frontline and launching a counteroffensive in Kursk province – Kiev’s only major military success this year.
But the slow, drawn-out war — often called a war of attrition, where both sides try to weaken the other — has drained the resources of both countries.
Ukraine remains at a disadvantage in both material and human terms, despite receiving billions of dollars in aid from Western allies, including more than half a billion dollars in new military equipment pledged by Germany on December 2.
It remains unclear how much aid the US will continue to provide after President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
Russia, meanwhile, has more weapons, ammunition and personnel – but the pressure on its economy and population is growing.
Russia has sharply increased military spending over the past two years, and its economy is showing signs of overheating: inflation is high and companies are facing labor shortages. To control the situation, the Russian Central Bank raised interest rates to 21% in October, the highest level in decades.
Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to receive significant military support from its allies.
On December 2, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Kiev for the first time in more than two years, pledging to provide more than 650 million euros ($684 million) in military equipment to Ukraine.
Mr Scholz announced that Germany would supply more air defence systems - including US-made Patriot systems - to Ukraine next year.
The German chancellor's visit comes after he angered Ukrainian officials last month by speaking by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, ending a years-long European effort to isolate the Russian president after the Ukraine conflict erupted in 2022.
Speaking alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a press conference in Kiev, Chancellor Scholz said he used the call to stress to Mr Putin that "Ukraine must remain an independent sovereign state" and "Russia must end the war and withdraw its troops".
