According to the German Institute for International Security Studies, Russia’s spending on “national defense” reached an unprecedented $43.28B in the third quarter. Compared to the second quarter, military spending increased by 80% and in annual terms by 53%. On average, the government spent $470M daily on maintaining the military and purchasing weapons in July-September, or $19.6M per hour. Quarterly military spending is equivalent to 15 annual budgets of a large region. Spending on military salaries increased by 26% year-on-year to $6.14B.
Spending on “military cooperation with foreign states”, which may include the purchase of Iranian drones and North Korean missiles, increased to a new record – $1.73B.
Over the first nine months of the year, Russia spent $71B on the war, or 27% of all budget expenditures; by the end of the year, the amount may increase to $115B. Next year, the budget includes a further increase in military spending by another 25%, to $134.9B.