Russian president Vladimir Putin approved budget plans, pushing military spending to record levels by 2025, as Moscow tries to achieve victory in the war in Ukraine.
About 32.5% of the budget published on a government website on Sunday has been allocated to national defense, amounting to 13.5 trillion rubles (more than $145 billion), up from a reported 28.3% this year .
Lawmakers in both houses of the Russian parliament, the State Duma and the Federation Council, had already approved the plans in the past ten days.
Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine since February 2022 is Europe’s largest conflict since World War II and has depleted the resources of both sides. Kiev 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 Ukrainian forces back in eastern areas.
New European Council President Antonio Costa and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas arrived in Kiev on Sunday, marking their first day in office with a strong message of support for Ukraine. Their visit comes at a time when doubts are growing about what Kiev can expect from a new country US government led by Donald Trump.
Mikhail Tereshchenko, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP,
“From the first day of the war, the EU has stood by Ukraine’s side,” Costa posted on X, along with a photo of himself, Kallas and EU enlargement head Marta Kos. “From the first day of our mandate, we reaffirm our unwavering support for the Ukrainian people.”
On the ground in Ukraine, three people died in the southern city of Kherson when a Russian drone hit a minibus on Sunday morning, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. Seven others were injured in the attack.
Meanwhile, the number of people injured in the rocket attack on Dnipro in central Ukraine has risen to 24, of which seven are in serious condition, Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak said. Four people were killed in the attack.
Moscow sent 78 drones to Ukraine overnight and Sunday, Ukrainian officials said. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, 32 drones were destroyed and another 45 drones were lost, probably electronically jammed.
Evgeni Maloletka / AP
In Russia, a child was killed in a Ukrainian drone strike in the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine, according to regional governor Alexander Bogomaz.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that 29 Ukrainian drones were shot down in four regions of western Russia on Sunday night: 20 over the Bryansk region, seven over the Kaluga region and one over the Smolensk and Kursk regions.
