A Russian soldier armed with a new version of Kalashnikov assault rifle trains for combat at an undisclosed location in Ukraine (Picture: AP)
Vladimir Putin is apparently not done preparing Russians for wars he does not want.
The president is allegedly planning to spend £830 billion to rearm the country over the next decade – a not-so-subtle signal that the Kremlin is gearing up for something much bigger than border skirmishes.
Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR), warned that Russia has launched its most ambitious weapons programme since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
During an annual meeting of Ukrainian ambassadors ‘Intelligence, Security, Diplomacy: A Joint Strategy for Victory’ last week, he said: ‘There is a total mobilisation of politics, economy and society in Russia in order to be ready for a future large-scale war.’
As part of this reform, two new military districts – Moscow and Leningrad – have been created, with the aim to set up additional divisions and military units.
Budanov stressed that the Kremlin’s goal is not just regional domination, but the reshaping of the global order.
He said: ‘Russia seeks to disrupt the current security and economic order.
‘To do this, Moscow is increasing its presence in Africa, primarily using its proxy forces – the Wagner PMC and the African Corps, and supporting the authoritarian regimes and terrorist organisations around the world.’
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Putin’s vision – as described by Budanov – is to impose his own vision of the ‘future world order’, where the ‘big’ states, primarily Russia have full power, a monopoly on all critical resources, and ‘decide the fate of the world in a closed circle’.
His comments follow warnings from Western intelligence services about Russia’s long-term military buildup.
For a country already devoting 6.3% of its GDP to defence – and struggling under mounting international sanctions – £830 billion is a big promise.
The 2025 budget already marks a significant increase, reaching the highest level since the Cold War.
Russian servicemen boarding a bus after being released in a prisoner swap with Ukraine, at an undisclosed location in Belarus (Picture: EPA)
Earlier this year, Russia’s military spending outdid the combined defence budgets of all European nations, according to the data by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
The think tank said that its military expenditure last year was forecast at £110 billion, or 6.7% of the country’s gross domestic product – more than 40% higher than the previous year.
Dr Pavel Luzin, former advisor of the late Russia opposition figure Alexei Navalny during his presidential campaign, said that it will be hard for the Kremlin to maintain military spending at such a high level without either increasing imbalances in the economy.
He added: ‘The armed forces and the military-industrial complex as institutional actors and consolidated societal groups have become main beneficiaries of the war.
‘They would also be the losers from any significant decrease of the military budget, which would inevitably cause personnel outflows and barely manageable financial problems for the state-owned corporations deprived of government investments, subsidies and loan guarantees.’
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