Russia spends more than 300 million USD a day on defense
Russia spends more than $300 million a day on defense in April, amid the ongoing military operation in Ukraine.
Data released by the Russian Ministry of Finance on May 17 showed that the country in April spent 628 billion rubles (more than 10.1 billion USD) on defense, or about 21 billion rubles a day (338 million USD). This expenditure is said to be equivalent to the annual budget of some provinces in Russia.
Russia’s defense spending in April was more than twice the level before the country launched its military campaign in Ukraine. In January, defense spending was 233.7 billion rubles (over $3.7 billion), increasing to 369 billion rubles (more than $5.9 billion) in February, when Russia began the campaign.
From January to April this year, Russia spent a total of 1.681 trillion rubles (more than 27 billion USD) on military.
Russian soldiers in Mariupol, Ukraine, on May 18. Image: AFP.
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov at the end of April said that the country’s budget this year is expected to have a deficit of 1.6 trillion rubles (more than 25.7 billion USD) because of sanctions. Russia will use the National Financial Fund (NWF) to cover the budget deficit.
“If the revenue is higher, we will spend less from the NWF. On the contrary, we will have to take more from the NWF,” said Minister Siluanov.
Meanwhile, the Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine last week said that the Russian operation had destroyed the infrastructure worth $100 billion, half of the gross domestic product (GDP).
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky late last month said that Ukraine’s total losses since Russia launched the military operation are about 600 billion USD and urgently need to prepare a reconstruction plan.
Ngoc Anh (According to Moscow Times)
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