UK intelligence: Moscow hides major part of its military spending

The Kremlin has classified a significant part of its military spending, which is surely putting pressure on the Russian budget.

“On May 25, 2023, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reported that Russian military spending grew by 9.2 per cent in 2022 to $86.4 billion. SIPRI assesses this equates to 4.1 per cent of Russia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” Caliber.Az reports citing the UK Defence Ministry's daily intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine.

“Russia’s true military spending is highly uncertain due to the increased use of classified budget lines, especially since February 2022, and the lack of transparency,” the intel report says.

“Russia has only recently resumed publishing headline expenditure breakdowns after suspending this in May 2022. It is almost certain that military spending remains elevated, and this is putting pressure on Russian government finances,” it adds.