Military expenditures of the Russian Federation have recorded unprecedented growth. By the end of the first quarter of 2026, defense spending increased by a third compared to the same period last year, reaching an absolute record since the beginning of the full-scale war against Ukraine.
Financial Scale of the Conflict
According to calculations by Janis Kluge, a researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, published by RBC-Ukraine, Russia's military spending for three months amounted to 5.91 trillion rubles (approximately $83.2 billion). To understand the scale: on average, the Russian war machine spent about 2.7 billion rubles per hour, or $38 million. The daily volume of spending approached 65 billion rubles, while monthly costs reached 2 trillion rubles.
Secret Articles and Budget Structure
A significant part of the growth was driven by secret budget articles. Their volume for the quarter increased from 3.4 trillion to 4.9 trillion rubles. As a result, 38.2% of all federal expenditures were classified. In fact, the share of military spending in the Russian budget reached 46% for the first time. This means that almost every second ruble of the federal budget was directed to the needs of the army.
The Russian government planned to reduce the share of military spending from 7.8% to 6.2% of GDP. However, reality showed the opposite trend: in the first quarter of 2026, this indicator swelled to 12% of GDP. Experts forecast that by the end of the year, military spending could amount to 9-10% of GDP, which will significantly increase the country's budget deficit.
Comparison with the Civilian Sector
The amount spent on the war in one quarter exceeds the annual budget of the entire higher education system in Russia, which is 1.7 trillion rubles. Also, this figure is larger than the budgets of all Russian regions, with the exception of Moscow.
Total Russian spending on the war against Ukraine since 2022, according to Kluge's calculations, has already reached 53.079 trillion rubles ($746.6 billion).
Situation at the Front
Against the backdrop of colossal financial injections, the situation on the front line remains tense. Ukrainian troops routed three units of occupiers during exercises at one of the training grounds, inflicting losses of dozens of people on the enemy. In addition, strikes on bridges blocked land routes to Crimea, thwarting the plans of Russian occupiers for possible offensives.