Putin ordered sharp rise in war spending after Alaska meeting with Trump, Bloomberg says
According to Bloomberg's sources, Russia's president ordered a steep increase in war spending in late 2025 after hopes of a quick peace deal faded. Defense spending could reach 17 trillion rubles by the end of 2026.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a significant increase in spending on the war against Ukraine in late 2025, Bloomberg reports, citing its sources. They point to his August 2025 meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska as the turning point.
After that meeting, Putin reportedly expected peace talks to wrap up within the next year, so a large rise in the war budget would not have been needed. By January, however, the Kremlin concluded that no agreement with Ukraine would be reached, and the government began raising spending sharply.
A record budget
Two sources close to the government told Bloomberg that Russian defense spending could hit 17 trillion rubles by the end of 2026. That is 40% above the 2025 plan and virtually matches the record 17.1 trillion rubles allocated for 2027.
A year earlier, the authorities had intended to slow the growth of military spending in 2026 and start replenishing reserves drained during the war.
Bloomberg economist Ekaterina Vlasova believes actual military spending could once again exceed the plan next year. In her view, the government is finally budgeting for a prolonged war in Ukraine but still underestimates its true cost. Holding nominal defense spending flat will be difficult as the war of attrition continues and the cost of military production climbs.
A different explanation
Sources for journalist Farida Rustamova previously offered another explanation for the increase in military spending in Russia's 2027–2029 budget. One official involved in drafting it said the cause was Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries and storage facilities. Those attacks peaked in spring and summer, when the three-year budget draft was being prepared.
