Russia Burns Through $29 Million Every Hour to Fund Its War Against Ukraine

Russian federal budget spending linked to the war against Ukraine reached a record 10.687 trillion rubles ($123.4 billion) in the first half of 2026.According to an analysis of finance ministry data by Janis Kluge, a researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, the figure represents a 30% increase, or 2.46 trillion rubles ($28.4 billion), compared with the same period in 2025.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.According to the Moscow times, military spending was 65% higher than in the first six months of 2024 and 145% above the level recorded during the same period in 2023.Compared with the first year of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, spending increased by 285%, while expenditures were more than five times higher than in the prewar year of 2021.On average, Russia spent about 1.78 trillion rubles ($20.6 billion) a month on its military and weapons production during the first half of this year. That amounted to roughly 59 billion rubles ($681.4 million) per day, or 2.5 billion rubles ($28.9 million) per hour.Military-related expenditures accounted for 43.8% of all federal budget spending during the six-month period, which Kluge described as a new record.Measured against government revenue, the share was even higher. Russia spent the equivalent of 57.3% of all federal budget income on the military and defense industry.A year earlier, military spending accounted for 39.2% of federal expenditures and 46.8% of revenue. Before the full-scale invasion, those figures stood at 20% and 19.8%, respectively, according to Kluge’s calculations. Other Topics of Interest Ukraine Unlocks €418M in EU Aid in August, But Billions Remain at Risk Ukraine secured €418 million from the EU after fulfilling overdue benchmarks, but over €4.8 billion in EU funds, including key IMF and World Bank tranches, remain at risk due to reform backlogs. About two-thirds of Russia’s military spending was classified, Kluge said.During the first six months of 2026, the Kremlin spent 3.546 trillion rubles ($40.9 billion) through publicly disclosed defense budget lines and 7.141 trillion rubles ($82.4 billion) through classified expenditures.The classified portion increased by 42% compared with the previous year and was more than seven times higher than before the war.Since the beginning of 2022, Russia has spent a total of 57.144 trillion rubles ($660 billion) on its military and weapons procurement.That amount is comparable to the Russian Central Bank’s entire gold and foreign currency reserves, valued at $720.3 billion as of Aug. 1. It is also about 2.2 times the estimated $292.8 billion value of Russia’s gold holdings.The Russian government initially planned defense spending equivalent to 6.7% of gross domestic product in its 2026 budget. Actual spending was about 1.5 times higher than planned and reached an estimated 10.5% of GDP for the first half of the year, Kluge calculated.Russia’s growing military expenditures have contributed to a widening federal budget deficit.The deficit reached about 6.45 trillion rubles ($74.5 billion) in the first seven months of 2026, equivalent to 2.8% of GDP and roughly twice the original target for the entire year. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.