Russia's spending on the war against Ukraine is expected to exceed its budget allocations by at least 2 trillion rubles ($28 billion) this year.
That is according to a letter from Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov obtained by the Financial Times, Ukrinform reports.
The letter indicates that in February, Russia's Finance Ministry estimated that war-related overspending of 2 trillion rubles could rise to as much as 4 trillion rubles under a "negative scenario" this year. It also projects additional overruns of 4 trillion rubles in both 2027 and 2028.
The letter calls on the government to freeze 2.9 trillion rubles in planned non-military spending for this year, 5.4 trillion rubles for 2027, and 7.1 trillion rubles for 2028 in order to cover rising war costs.
According to the Financial Times, this request highlights Russia's growing difficulty in financing the war despite allocating 16.84 trillion rubles ($238 billion), nearly 40% of its 2026 budget, to defense and security.
