The Russian government plans to significantly increase the defense expenditures by the end of 2024 in connection with the war in Ukraine. According to the Report of the Institute of War (ISW), the Russian Ministry of Finance is preparing to allocate an additional 1.5 trillion rubles (about $ 16 billion) to finance military needs and support the banking system.
The Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation Anton Siluanov stated that the government needs additional funds to meet the needs of the Ministry of Defense, law enforcement agencies, as well as to serve public debt. Much of these funds will be directed to the war against Ukraine, which continues to demand large resources.
Stimulating volunteers
The Russian authorities are actively looking for new ways to involve citizens in the war, trying to avoid unpopular forced mobilization. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation presented a draft resolution, which provides for volunteers to the status of a participant of hostilities without the need to apply. The responsibility for registration of this status will now lie on military units.
This initiative is intended to encourage more people to voluntarily join in hostilities, while minimizing public dissatisfaction with coercive mobilization campaigns. The first wave of mobilization took place in the fall of 2022, when, after the successful counter -offensive actions of the Armed Forces, Russia suffered significant losses in Kharkiv.
The request for additional 1.5 trillion rubles is submitted to the already allocated funds from the federal budget. ISW analysts say that such steps indicate that the war continues to be a key priority for the Russian authorities, which is looking for new sources of funding to support military operations and internal economic stability.
