Russia on track to spend 2 percent of GDP on military personnel this year — Re: Russia

Russian budget expenditures on military personnel participating in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine reached approximately 2 trillion rubles (roughly $25.8 billion at the current exchange rate) in the first half of 2025, according to analysts at Re: Russia. The study examined government allocations aimed at sustaining military recruitment to maintain manpower levels at the front.

“An effective commercial ‘war contract’ remains a key factor allowing Vladimir Putin to conduct offensive campaigns in Ukraine for the second year running, even with extremely heavy losses and little real gain in terms of territory captured,” write the authors at Re: Russia.

Russia has managed to replenish its troops at the frontlines by attracting new recruits with signing bonuses that increased significantly in the second half of 2024 and reached their peak by February 2025.

According to Re: Russia’s estimates, total expenditures by Russian budgets at all levels on bonuses amounted to roughly 400 billion rubles ($4.4 billion) in the first half of 2025. Spending on military pay was approximately 860 billion rubles ($9.6 billion), while payments to the families of fallen soldiers and the wounded totaled 750–760 billion rubles ($8.3–8.4 billion). If spending continues at this rate, the total will reach four trillion rubles ($51.36 billion) by the end of the year, accounting for 2 percent of GDP (and 9.5 percent of the 2025 federal budget).