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Putin Pushes Russia’s 2026 War Spending to $200 Billion—Matching Next Year’s Record Budget
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Russia is set to spend around 17 trillion rubles ($200 billion) on its war effort in 2026—nearly matching the record level Moscow had planned to reach only next year—after Vladimir Putin ordered a major increase in military expenditures, Bloomberg reported on October 7.
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The new estimate is roughly 40% above the Russian government’s original 2026 spending plan and comes just days after Moscow unveiled a record $200 billion military allocation for 2027.
According to Bloomberg, Putin ordered the government to increase war-related spending by nearly $60 billion after the Kremlin concluded that negotiations involving US President Donald Trump were unlikely to end the war on terms acceptable to Moscow.
Putin had initially expected that talks with Trump could pressure Ukraine into an agreement and allow Russia to avoid another major increase in military spending, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.
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By January, however, the Kremlin had concluded that no breakthrough had been achieved. The government subsequently accelerated advance payments to Russia’s defense industry and increased other military expenditures throughout 2026.
As a result, spending is now expected to reach around 17 trillion rubles ($200 billion) by the end of the year, according to two people close to the Russian government cited by Bloomberg.
The figure effectively brings Russia’s 2026 war spending to the level Moscow had presented as a new record for 2027. Russia’s draft budget for next year allocates 17.1 trillion rubles ($201 billion) to defense-related spending, representing roughly 35% of total federal expenditure.
Russia had initially budgeted roughly 12.1 trillion rubles ($142 billion) for defense in 2026, although actual military expenditures are classified and additional war-related spending is distributed across other parts of the federal budget.
The acceleration was already visible during the first half of the year. According to calculations by Janis Kluge of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs cited by Bloomberg, Russia spent 10.687 trillion rubles ($126 billion) on the war during the first six months of 2026, approaching its original full-year target.
The surge is also adding pressure to Russia’s public finances. The federal budget deficit is now projected to exceed 7 trillion rubles ($82 billion) in 2026, compared with an earlier target of 3.8 trillion rubles ($45 billion).
Earlier, senior Russian financial officials warned Putin that the country’s war spending was becoming unsustainable, with the Finance Ministry and Central Bank raising concerns that rising military expenditures could further widen the federal budget deficit.
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