Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview with Ukrinform that Russia spends nearly $1 billion daily on its war against Ukraine.
“This is an extremely expensive war. A day of war costs slightly less than a billion for them — this is a huge amount of money,” Budanov said.
Russia’s State Duma has approved a federal budget for 2025 with 40 trillion rubles in revenue (approximately $450 billion) and 41.5 trillion rubles in expenditures. Defense and national security will consume about 8% of GDP, with 13.5 trillion rubles allocated for defense and another 3.4 trillion for national security and law enforcement.
“41% [of budget expenditures] is the defense budget. These are abnormal figures. To implement this budget, almost all social programs, medical, educational were curtailed,” Budanov commented on Russia’s economic situation.
“The financial and economic impact, negative, on Russia is already noticeable. But again: as long as there is oil, gas, metal, precious metals and stones, they will continue to balance,” Budanov added.
The intelligence chief emphasized that while Russia’s mobilization resources allow them to continue fighting, the Kremlin cannot ignore the mounting casualties.
“The pace and number of victims — they cannot fail to take this into account. And they do take it into account,” he said.
Russia has suffered significant casualties in Ukraine, with estimates suggesting over 700,000 Russian forces have been killed or injured since the invasion began in February 2022. The casualty rate has increased, particularly in 2024, with daily averages reported to be around 1,000 soldiers.
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