Russia has already spent a quarter of its annual budget revenues on the war with Ukraine

Russia has already spent a quarter of its annual budget revenues on the war with Ukraine. According to the Ukrainian publication Forbes, Russia spent $82.2bn on the war with Ukraine in the first nine months of the year. This expenditure was distributed as follows

• Salaries of military personnel: $15.6bn
• Losses of military equipment: 20.8bn dollars
• Artillery shells: more than $5.5 billion
• Compensation to families of those killed or injured: $9.4 billion and $7.7 billion respectively

In addition, mobilisation has been costly, as well as the purchase of Iranian drones and ammunition, which Russia is reportedly buying from North Korea

Russian military casualties have risen sharply in the past two months. While in the summer the amount of compensation to be paid to the dead and wounded was estimated at about $1 billion monthly, it exceeded $3.5 billion in the last month of the war

Russia also lost 278 combat aircraft in Ukraine, at an average cost of $18 million, and 261 helicopters at an average cost of $10.4 million. Russia's total military aviation losses in monetary terms amount to $8 billion.

In the autumn, Russia's spending on the war with Ukraine doubled and now amounts to about $10bn monthly, Forbes said. The publication concluded that Russia was finding it increasingly difficult to find funds for military needs and might not be able to cope with the burden in 2023. The situation is complicated by declining income from oil and gas exports amid sanctions.