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Ukraine’s spy chief: Russia allocates 41% of main budget for war in Ukraine

Russia dedicates 41% of its main budget to war efforts while relying on North Korean artillery supplies.

byOlena Mukhina

25/02/2025

2 minute read

Russian soldiers, illustrative image. Photo via Wikimedia.

Ukraine’s spy chief: Russia allocates 41% of main budget for war in Ukraine

Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate, says that 41% of Russia’s main budget is allocated to its war against Ukraine, according to Novyny.Live.

Recently, the IISS’s annual Military Balance 2025 report has revealed that despite heavy losses in 2024, Russian forces have adapted their capabilities and may sustain offensive operations for at least another year. As of early January 2025, Russia has lost 172,000 troops killed since the start of its all-out war against Ukraine in 2022. Additionally, 611,000 soldiers have been wounded, with 376,000 sustaining severe injuries leading to permanent disability and discharge from military service.

“Even officially, 41% of the Russian Federation’s main budget—why do I say ‘main’? Because there are also additional funds—is a war budget. It funds Russia’s Ministry of Defense. These are truly alarming figures,” Budanov stressed.

He also revealed that Russian forces currently have 120 self-propelled artillery systems with a 170mm caliber, classified as long-range artillery.

Additionally, Budanov noted that 49% of Russia’s 122mm and 152mm artillery shells, as well as 122mm rockets for multiple launch rocket systems, are supplied by North Korea.

Earlier, Russian forces launched one-way strike drones and cruise missiles across Ukraine. The Russians attacked the country with 213 Shahed strike UAVs and various types of decoy drones launched from Oryol, Bryansk, Kursk, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia. Additionally, Russia launched seven Kh-101 cruise missiles from Tu-95MS strategic bombers.

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