A day of war for Russia costs nearly $1 billion, and 41% of the country's budget is allocated to defense.
This was reported in an interview with Ukrinform by Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense.
"This is an extremely expensive war. A day of war costs them just under a billion, which is an enormous amount of money. As for human resources, again, we shouldn't deceive ourselves—the mobilization potential of the Russian Federation will allow them to continue moving forward. But the pace and the number of casualties—they cannot ignore this, and they are taking it into account," he said.
When asked about Russia's economic potential, the military leader noted,
"Problems have already arisen, but let's not deceive ourselves. Even according to official data, 41 percent is allocated to the defense budget. These are abnormal figures, and to meet this budget, nearly all social programs, including medical and educational ones, have been cut... So, the financial-economic impact on the Russian Federation is already being felt. But again, I say: as long as there is oil, gas, metals, and precious stones, they will manage to balance."
Budanov also responded to the question regarding the current aim of the Russian military-political leadership – whether it is to make peace in order to accumulate strength and move forward.
"Yes, they need a break. Because according to their strategy, if they do not exit this war by 2026, they will lose even the chance for global leadership. At best, they will remain at the level of regional leadership, which is completely unacceptable to them. The cost of the war is too high, especially the financial cost. It prevents the country from developing, from undertaking large-scale projects, etc. There is a shortage of technologies, technological solutions that are missing in the Russian Federation, particularly in the development of Arctic regions, gas extraction there, and so on."
