Draft documents suggest Russia will increase defense spending to $145 billion as it embarks on a recruitment push.

Draft documents suggest Russia will increase defense spending to $145 billion as it embarks on a recruitment push.

Russia is hiking state spending on national defence by a quarter in 2025 to 6.3% of gross domestic product (GDP), the highest levels since the Cold War, according to draft budget documents published on Monday.

Russia plans to boost its defence budget by almost 30 percent next year as it diverts resources to its Ukraine offensive, spending more on the military than welfare and education

Russian state spending on national defence will increase by 23% in 2025 to 13.5 trillion roubles ($145.32 billion) from 10.8 trillion roubles in 2024, draft state budget documents published on Monday showed.

The figure puts Russian military expenditures at 6.3% of its GDP, the highest level since the Cold War, representing 32% of its total 2025 federal budget spending. In comparison, Moscow spent RUB 5.5 trillion ($59 billion) on defense in 2022.

Russian expenditures on defense and security are set to account for 32 percent of all budgetary outlays in 2025. Paying the salaries and wages of the military's administrative segment will constitute about 10 percent of the planned military expenditures.