Two-Thirds of Russia's Military Budget Is Now Classified
Russia's budget law called for a cut in military spending this year. Instead outlays rose 30 percent to a record 43.8 percent of federal spending, and two-thirds of that budget is now hidden.
Russia's budget law called for a cut in military spending this year. Instead outlays rose 30 percent to a record 43.8 percent of federal spending, and two-thirds of that budget is now hidden.
Russia spent 10.687 trillion rubles, about $123.4 billion, on its military in the first half of 2026. That was 30 percent more than a year earlier and a record 43.8 percent of all federal spending, Janis Kluge of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs calculated from Russian Finance Ministry data.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did Russia spend on its military in the first half of 2026?
10.687 trillion rubles, about $123.4 billion, a 30 percent rise on the same period in 2025, per Janis Kluge's calculations from Russian Finance Ministry data for the SWP Russian Budget Monitor.
Why is 43.8 percent significant?
It is the highest share of federal budget spending the military has taken since before the full-scale war, according to Kluge's tracker. The share ran 24.5 percent in the first half of 2018, 29.6 percent in 2023, 36.6 percent in 2024 and 39.3 percent in 2025.
What does it mean that two-thirds of the budget is classified?
Open, itemized defense lines took 3.546 trillion rubles in the half, while lines the Kremlin does not disclose in detail took 7.141 trillion. Kluge found classified spending rose 42 percent year on year, and that the full-year classified target of 11.6 trillion rubles was already more than 8.4 trillion spent after six months.
Had Russia planned to spend this much?
No. Kluge wrote that Russia's 2026 budget law called for military spending to fall this year and that the opposite is happening. At the current pace military spending would exceed 9 percent of GDP by December.
How is Russia paying for it?
Increasingly with debt. The deficit reached 2.8 percent of GDP by the end of July, nearly twice the annual target, and liquid National Wealth Fund assets fell to 1.6 percent of GDP, per Kluge. Long-term government bond yields neared 17 percent in July.
Can Russia keep this up?
Ukrainian Defence Intelligence chief Oleh Ivashchenko told Ukrinform in an interview published Sept. 7 that Russia is economically much weaker than at the start of the war but may have resources to fight through 2027 and 2028, citing a labor shortage, a widening deficit and a deteriorating banking system.
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Marcus Schuler
Marcus Schuler edits BattlePolicy, a daily defense-technology brief connecting the companies and capabilities behind modern war to the contest among Europe, the US, Russia, and China.