Russia's War Costs Soar: Finance Minister Warns Putin of Budget Overshoot

(Central News Agency, London, 2nd, Combined Foreign Reports) Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly been warned by his own officials that he cannot sustain the war in Ukraine at the current pace, especially as Ukrainian forces report frequent frontline successes and continue to strike deep into Russian energy infrastructure. According to a report by the British newspaper The Independent, senior Russian finance officials and central bank officials have urged the Kremlin to control soaring defense spending. Both Russia and Ukraine have intensified costly airstrikes on key infrastructure. Russia launched a massive nighttime airstrike on multiple Ukrainian cities, killing at least 22 people. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated today that Russia is "losing on the battlefield and has no cards left to play except terror." According to Bloomberg News, as Ukraine continues to pressure Russia by striking its energy infrastructure, Russian defense officials have reportedly told Putin they will need tens of billions of additional dollars this year to support the war effort. After the Russian Finance Ministry suggested cutting spending to prevent the budget deficit from spiraling out of control, Putin reportedly asked the ministry to find savings elsewhere. Documents reviewed by the Financial Times last week revealed that Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov predicted the country's war spending would exceed the budget by at least $28 billion this year. Siluanov reportedly wrote to the cabinet in February urging them to freeze approximately $40.8 billion in non-war-related spending plans for this year. He also estimated an additional overspend of about $54.8 billion on the war in 2027 and 2028. As the conflict continues, about two-fifths of this year's budget has been allocated to defense and security. Sources told Bloomberg that the Russian Defense Ministry and the Kremlin oppose cutting defense spending, warning it would harm companies that rely on lucrative defense contracts. (Editor: Lu Yingzi) 1150603