Senior Russian officials have warned President Vladimir Putin that spending on the war in Ukraine is becoming too expensive and is putting pressure on the country’s budget.
Officials from Russia’s Finance Ministry and central bank say defence spending risks pushing the budget deficit to unsafe levels, according to people familiar with the matter and documents reviewed by Bloomberg News.
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They have called for cuts or efficiency savings in military spending as financial pressure increases.
However, defense officials and others in the security establishment are pushing back, arguing that cutting military spending would weaken the war effort and hurt industries that depend on state military contracts.
According to people familiar with the talks, President Vladimir Putin has told the finance ministry to look for savings in other parts of the budget before cutting defense spending.
At the same time, Russia’s war costs are already exceeding earlier plans. According to a Financial Times report citing an internal government document, military spending is expected to be about 2 trillion rubles ($28 billion) higher than planned this year.
The document, based on a letter from Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, warns that the government may need to freeze spending in other areas to cover the gap. In a worse case, the shortfall could grow to 4 trillion rubles ($56 billion) in the coming years.
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Russia has set aside 16.84 trillion rubles ($238 billion) for defence and security in its 2026 budget — nearly 40% of all government spending.
The budget gap is already widening. In the first four months of this year, Russia recorded a deficit of 5.9 trillion rubles ($82 billion), much higher than expected and the largest since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.
The government originally planned a 2026 deficit of 3.8 trillion rubles ($53 billion), but officials now expect the gap to be much larger as spending rises and growth slows.
Finance Minister Siluanov has reportedly suggested freezing up to 2.9 trillion rubles ($40 billion) in spending this year to help stabilise the budget.
Russia’s economy is also slowing. Growth forecasts have been cut sharply, and officials now expect almost no growth in 2026.
Even higher oil prices are unlikely to fix the problem. Experts close to the government say oil would need to stay above $100 per barrel for a long time to make a real difference.
Siluanov has warned that “reserves are not endless” and said the government must be careful with spending. But options are limited, with taxes already increased and new revenue ideas being discussed.
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