The price of war for Russia: how much the Kremlin spends?

Ten billion dollars a month Russia spends on the war with Ukraine is a quarter of the annual budget of Moscow or 10 yearly budgets of the Buryatia region.

During the 21 years of his rule, the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, made militarization the main item of the budget. For this reason, the Kremlin saves on education, medicine, and science. But even such infusions did not make the Russian army the second in the world, no matter how Kremlin propagandists tried to convince everyone of the opposite. Russia’s large-scale losses in manpower and equipment in Ukraine are proof of that.

“And now the production is either blocked by the lack of equipment, or it can be produced based on outdated models. Today, every combat unit used by the Russian Federation in the war becomes a unique combat unit,” said Oleksandr Kovalenko, a military-political analyst of the “Information Resistance” group.

Recovering losses is difficult and costly

The minimum price of an airplane is $25 million. Their Ukrainian defenders shot down more than 280. Helicopters are a little cheaper for the Russians — $15 million each. There were 260 fewer of them in the Russian defense industry. Air defense systems — $10 million per installation.

The Armed Forces destroyed at least 212 of them. And tanks – 2 million dollars per unit, but the total number of destroyed vehicles – more than 3 thousand. Well, the Kremlin’s most expensive loss is the Moskva missile cruiser, sunk by the Armed Forces back in April.

“The largest loss of the Russian army was the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet with powerful weapons – the missile cruiser “Moskva” worth 750 million dollars. Before the sinking of the “Moscow,” the most expensive loss of the Russians was a large Il-76 amphibious aircraft worth 86 million dollars, which was shot down by air defense forces at the end of February in the sky of the Kyiv region.

The third most expensive was the large amphibious assault ship “Saratov” for $75 million. The Ukrainian army struck the ship when it was in the port of occupied Berdyansk — it was delivering military equipment there,” says the Forbes publication.

But there is another cost item — people. And not just ordinary soldiers, but professionals — tankers or pilots. They are the most expensive. The training of one pilot costs Russian taxpayers from 4 to 8 million dollars.

“A pilot is a combat unit worth its weight. Even more by its weight than the aviation unit itself, because a professional pilot means almost 10 years of training, training, and most importantly, participation in any combat operations,” Kovalenko noted.

And ordinary soldiers need to be clothed, shod, and fed, and then their families must be paid “burial money.” By the way, more than 100,000 people already fall under this item of expenses.

“The Russians are sending more and more assault units to the slaughter over and over again. They are a) unprepared, b) have no equipment, and incapable of operating in the conditions of modern dynamic combat. I think this will continue in the future. It fits into the paradigm of Zhukov’s variant of conducting hostilities, attempts to bombard the enemy’s trenches with a large number of bodies of Russian soldiers,” said military expert Vladyslav Seleznyov.

$110 billions for 11 months of war

Military arithmetic: a sunken cruiser, burned tanks, downed planes and helicopters, destroyed air defense systems – at least 20 billion dollars for the 11 months of the war. And also artillery systems, armored vehicles, and anti-aircraft guns. Drones and missiles are the Kremlin’s war against peaceful Ukrainians. UAVs cost $100,000 each; missiles cost an average of $9 million. In total, 6 more can be added to $20 billion.

Such expenses can drown any budget. But sanctions are still in effect, which has significantly undermined the economy. But in the Kremlin, they found something to save – the Russians, who gave their lives for Putin’s imperial ambitions. After all, not everyone receives “funeral” payments. Tearful stories from propagandists about how parents bought a white Lada to pay for their son are rare. It is easier for Putin officials to declare that soldiers are missing.

Expenses on mobilization and burials

“For the most part, the money is not paid, not only for the “burial” but also for mobilization; the families of the mobilized do not receive this money. It is necessary to knock out. For those who returned or allegedly returned in a plastic bag from Ukraine, relatives must knock on thresholds and prove that they belong.

It is easier for the government to report a person missing than to report a person dead. As I understand it, the local authorities are simply taking money for themselves, by and large,” said the leader of the international movement. “Speak louder!” Andrey Sidelnikov.

Another article on the economy is about the development of the state. Russia had to abandon, for example, infrastructure projects. Yes, the Kremlin decided to save 300 billion rubles on the railway, or in its absence. The “Northern Latitude Route” — a railway project in the Arctic zone — has already been frozen due to a lack of money. Social programs were also cut.

Even those that Putin announced personally, for example, payments for children. Help was promised to at least 5 million families; it would cost the budget up to 60 billion rubles. Instead of assistance, two-thirds of the families received withdrawals, saying they did not meet the criteria.