"Russian government spending is becoming increasingly focused on the costs of its war on Ukraine," the UK defence ministry said in its latest Intelligence Update on the Situation in Ukraine.
It noted that Russia's proposed 2024 budget "envisages an approximate 68 percent increase in planned defence spending compared to that allotted for 2023."
This would put the government's defence spending in 2024 at around 6 percent of GDP, according to the UK defence ministry.
"In contrast, education and healthcare spending will be frozen at the 2023 allocation, which amounts to a real term spending cut due to inflation," the British defence ministry said on Monday.
It added that "more spending will need to be allocated to fund payments and healthcare costs for the mounting numbers of wounded soldiers and the families of those killed in the war."
The UK defence ministry predicted that "consistently heightened military spending will highly likely contribute to inflationary pressures within Russia."
It also assessed that continued increases in military spending could force the Russian government "to make difficult decisions about how to fund the war, likely increasing financial pressures on Russian businesses."
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Monday is day 607 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(gs)
Source: PAP, ukrinform.net
