Lawmakers in Russia’s upper house have given final parliamentary approval to a plan to boost military spending by almost 30 percent next year.
The Federation Council today passed the 2025 budget, which builds spending on defence and security to levels not seen since the Soviet era.
The budget earmarks a record of about $125bn in spending on national defence, more than what was apportioned for this year, which itself represented a post-Cold War record for being Russia’s largest military spending.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained that Ukraine must surrender, give up some of its seized territory, and pledge not to join NATO.
