Russia to Raise Defence Spending by 27% in 2027, Documents Show

Russia intends to spend 17.1 trillion rubles on defence in 2027, around 27% more than the 13.5 trillion rubles originally budgeted and the highest figure since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, according to government documents seen by Reuters.

The documents, reported on Monday, show total defence spending will reach 50 trillion rubles across the next three years. In 2026 the government had planned to spend 12.1 trillion rubles on defence, though the actual amount is classified and will not be disclosed. Some military expenditure can also be accounted for elsewhere in the budget.

The papers reveal a widening fiscal strain on the Kremlin as its war against Ukraine continues. The government has raised its estimate for the 2026 budget deficit to 3.2% of gross domestic product, up from 1.6% previously, while budget spending in 2026 will increase by 13.2% to 48.6 trillion rubles, or 20.9% of GDP.

The draft budget is expected to be submitted to parliament by 1 October. Last week, the government announced plans for new tax hikes in 2027 to finance the growing deficit. A new windfall tax on metals and mining companies is expected to raise about 200 billion rubles annually, the documents showed.

Moscow also plans to increase its net borrowing by 26% to 5 trillion rubles in 2026, and to spend 459 billion rubles — roughly 11% of the liquid portion of its National Wealth Fund — to reduce the deficit. The oil and gas revenue estimate for 2026 has been cut to 7.6 trillion rubles from 8.9 trillion previously. State debt is set to rise to 21.7% of GDP in 2027 from 19.9% in 2026, breaching the 20% level the authorities regard as safe. Total borrowing in 2027 will increase by 43% to 7.7 trillion rubles.

The figures lay bare the cost of the Kremlin's unprovoked assault on Ukraine, now in its fourth year, as Moscow diverts ever greater sums to its military while squeezing revenue from a shrinking pool of taxpayers and reserves. The World House, which maintains a dedicated page outlining its support for Ukraine at worldhouse.uk/support, continues to document the consequences of Russia's aggression.