As of the first half of 2025, military spending in the Russian Federation has set a new absolute record, reaching 8.48 trillion rubles (equivalent to $105.59 billion). According to the Institute for International Security Problems, this represents a 31% increase in spending on the army and weapon production compared to the same period last year. When compared to the first half of 2023, spending has increased by 95%, and relative to the first year of full-scale aggression, it has risen by 200%.
This is reported by Business • Media
Secret Military Budget and Its Consequences
The average monthly spending on the war by Russia amounted to 1.4 trillion rubles, while daily spending was 46.9 billion rubles (approximately $583.69 million). This exceeds the annual budgets of many underfunded regions of the aggressor country. It is important to note that nearly 62% of all military expenditures in Russia remain classified. Over the year, the volume of the secret budget has grown by 41%, and compared to the first half of 2022, it has increased by almost 300%.
“The RF military machine” consumed ₽1.4 trillion a month and ₽46.9 billion a day ($583.69 million) – an amount that exceeds the annual budgets of poor Russian regions.
From 2022 to 2024, Russia spent over 20 trillion rubles on the army and state defense orders. The budget for 2025 allocates an additional 13.5 trillion rubles for the “national defense” item, which constitutes 30% of all state expenditures and is a record share since the Soviet Union.
Comparison with Ukraine and the State of the Russian Economy
Amid record military spending by Russia, Ukraine allocates about 66% of its state budget for defense. During the first half of 2025, these expenditures amounted to 1.7 trillion hryvnias.
Meanwhile, the economic situation in Russia continues to deteriorate. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov informed the Kremlin leadership that the economic growth rate in 2025 may slow down by almost half from initial forecasts — to 1.5%. In comparison, in 2024, the economy grew by 4.1%. According to Russian statistics, in the first half of 2025, GDP increased by only 1.2%, and in the second quarter, it grew by 1.1%. The International Monetary Fund predicts that by the end of the year, Russia’s GDP growth will be only 0.9%.