The Russian Federation spends about $300 million a day on the war with Ukraine, and the Russian budget spent more in January-June 2023 than it planned to spend in the entire 2023. Despite this, Russia is doubling its military budget, and the cost of a Russian soldier is becoming less and less.
This is stated in an article in Forbes Ukraine magazine.
Direct military expenses and the cost of lost Russian equipment over the 18 months of the war (from February 24, 2022 to August 24, 2023) amount to about $167.3 billion, according to Forbes calculations based on data from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This estimate does not include fixed defense expenditures not related to military operations, and also does not include the economic losses of the aggressor country.
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Largest expenditure items:
- support for military operations ($51.3 billion);
- military salaries ($35.1 billion);
- compensation for the families of the dead ($25.6 billion) and the wounded ($21 billion);
- cost of destroyed equipment ($34 billion).
< p id="caption-attachment-5043395" class="wp-caption-text">Infographics: Forbes Ukraine
Salaries of soldiers of the Russian army
After the rapid fall of the ruble, the publication notes, the “cost” Russian soldier for the Russian Federation budget has decreased significantly. If in 2022 the total payments per fighter were about $200 per day, now it is about $120 per day.
Considering that the lion's share of Russian budget revenues consists of oil and gas revenues, the devaluation of the Russian national currency actually reduces the burden on the budget to support the army. At the same time, the real income of a Russian soldier is becoming noticeably smaller. Similarly, the majority of expenses in dollar equivalent have changed, which are not tied to imported products and prices on international markets.
At the same time, this has not yet helped the state budget of the Russian Federation to ensure a balance of the needs of the Russian army.
According to Reuters, in the first six months of 2023 alone, Russia spent 5.59 trillion rubles on defense needs, which is 600 billion rubles more than what was budgeted for the entire year. This forced the Russian government to double the planned federal budget spending on defense for 2023, increasing it to 9.7 trillion rubles.
The total budget of the Russian Federation for 2023 is planned at 29 trillion rubles. Thus, 33% of the federal budget will be spent on providing for the army.
Also, with the fall of the ruble, the cost of compensation to the military in US dollars decreases. If at an exchange rate of 60 rubles/$ the cost of compensation to the family of the deceased in the Russian Federation was about $110 thousand, now it is only about $65 thousand. The amount of compensation for the wounded accordingly decreased from $45 thousand to $27 thousand.
True, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the level of Russian losses in recent months remains at a significantly higher level than last year. Accordingly, Russia is forced to spend more on compensation.
Infographics: Forbes Ukraine
Rockets , shells and ammunition
The main item of expenditure of the Russian Federation for the war in Ukraine is ammunition and military support for the army. The total cost of these expenses is $51.34 billion.
Last year, Russian artillery used up to 50 thousand shells per day, now the rate of use has decreased significantly: approximately to 10 thousand shells per day.
The average price of a Soviet-caliber projectile is about $1000. So, the Russians spent more than $9 billion on providing Russian artillery alone during a year and a half of the great war.
Obviously, Russia was not prepared for such a long war and its stock of ammunition and production capabilities do not allow it to meet its own needs in the long term, which forces it to enter into a contract for the supply of ammunition with North Korea.
Russia has also resumed the intensity of rocket attacks on Ukrainian territory . If in March-April the Russian Federation fired 95 long-range missiles at Ukraine, in May it already launched 243 missiles. In August – 126.
The total cost of missiles fired into Ukraine is already more than $21.1 billion.
Infographics: Forbes Ukraine
Losses of equipment
According to Forbes, the greatest losses of the enemy in the war against Ukraine among equipment were tanks and aircraft.
Russia lost 315 combat aircraft, with an average cost of $18.8 million, and 316 helicopters, with an average cost of $10.4 million. But most of the aviation losses occurred in the first six months of the full-scale invasion.
The main “hunt” is now 8221; The APU occurs against enemy artillery and air defense systems. During the three-month counteroffensive, the Ukrainian military destroyed almost 2,000 artillery systems. This is the same as for the whole of last year. Overall, Russia has already lost $5 billion worth of artillery and MLRS.
Also, during the counteroffensive, Ukrainian long-range artillery destroys approximately 2.5 times more air defense systems than before.
The total losses of Russian equipment in monetary terms amount to more than $34 billion for the period from February 24, 2022 to February 24 August 2023.
Infographics: Forbes Ukraine
Recall, according to military analysts, If North Korea gives Russia artillery shells and other weapons for the war in Ukraine, it could replenish the Russians' dwindling supply of ammunition, but is unlikely to change the course of the war.
Meanwhile, the United States has declared its readiness without hesitation impose new sanctions if a meeting between Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un leads to the transfer of weapons between the two countries.
Photo: General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces
