The war has led Russia to raise its military spending in 2024 to 149,000 million dollars (almost 131 billion euros), 38% more than a year earlier and twice as many years ago, in 2015. In response to Russian aggression, Ukraine has also increased its items destined for defense, although in the last year it has remained far from the increase in Moscow. Specifically, in 2024 kyiv military spending increased by 2.9%, until reaching 64.7 billion dollars (about 56.8 billion euros). The data represents 45% of Russian expenditure, and is equivalent to 34% of Ukrainian GDP. No other country in the world reaches such a high military charge, according to the balance of the world military spending that the International Institute of Studies for Stockholm (Sipri) just update.
The massive attack on Ukraine that Russia began on February 24, 2022 was a turning point in the concern of Europe in general about its defense. At the same time, he raised a support wave to kyiv from the West that now enters difficulties. The arrival of the new US administration, chaired by Donald Trumpthe end of the essential American military aid to Ukraine. Now Europe tops that assistance, complicated by the need of the countries of the old continent for attending their own security. Within this framework, and after three years of conflict, kyiv is increasingly difficult to follow the rhythm imposed by Moscow.
In the current framework, in which in 2024 “Russia significantly increased its military expenditure, expanding the gap with Ukraine”, as summarized DIEGO LOPES DA SILVA, Principal Researcher of the Military Expenditure and Armament Production Program of the SIPRI“Ukraine currently allocates all its fiscal income to the military,” he reveals.
Lopes da Silva predicts that in this “such limited budget context, it will be difficult for Ukraine to continue increasing its military expenditure.”
