Russian President Vladimir Putin budget plans approved, bringing military spending for 2025 to record levels as Moscow seeks to assert itself in the war in Ukraine.
About 32.5% of the budget published on a government website on Sunday was allocated to national defense, or 13.5 trillion rubles (more than $145 billion), compared to 28.3% this year.
Lawmakers in both houses of the Russian Parliament, the State Duma and the Federation Council, had already approved these plans over the past ten days.
Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine since February 2022 constitutes the largest conflict in Europe since World War II and has exhausted the resources of both sides. kyiv has received billions of dollars in aid from its Western allies, but Russian forces are larger and better equipped, and in recent months the Russian military has gradually pushed back Ukrainian troops in eastern areas.
New European Council President Antonio Costa and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas arrived in kyiv on Sunday, marking their first day in office with a strong message of support for Ukraine. Their visit comes as doubts grow over what Kyiv can expect from a new US administration led by Donald Trump.
Mikhail Tereshchenko, Sputnik, Kremlin swimming pool photo via AP,
“From the first day of the war, the EU stood by Ukraine,” Costa posted on X, alongside a photo of himself, Kallas and the enlargement chief of the EU, Marta Kos. “From the first day of our mandate, we reaffirm our unwavering support for the Ukrainian people. »
In Ukraine, three people died in the southern city of Kherson when a Russian drone struck a minibus on Sunday morning, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. Seven other people were injured in the attack.
Separately, the number of injured in Saturday’s missile attack on Dnipro in central Ukraine rose to 24, including seven in serious condition, Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak said . Four people were killed in the attack.
Moscow sent 78 drones to Ukraine overnight Sunday, Ukrainian officials said. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, 32 drones were destroyed and another 45 were lost, likely due to electronic jamming.
Evgueni Maloletka / AP
In Russia, a child was killed during a Ukrainian drone attack in the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, according to regional governor Alexander Bogomaz.
The Russian Defense Ministry said 29 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight on Sunday in four regions of western Russia: 20 over the Bryansk region, seven over the Kaluga region and one over the Smolensk and Kursk regions.