Russian war efforts against Ukraine reach over $200 bln – Pentagon

The Russian Federation has spent more than $200 billion on the war against Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion.

Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin reported that during the Ronald Reagan National Security Forum in California.

"Meanwhile, Russia has paid a staggering price for Putin's foolishness.

Since February 2022, Russia has suffered at least 700,000 casualties. It has lost more than $200 billion," the Pentagon chief said.

He also added that Russia's losses in the first year of the full-scale war alone are greater than Moscow's losses in all its conflicts since World War II combined.

On December 8, Putin signed a law regarding the Russian budget for 2025, stating that 32.5% of the budget would go towards defense, totaling 13.5 trillion rubles (equivalent to over $145 billion). This allocation is higher than that of 2024, when Russia allocated 28.3% of its budget to defense.

Both chambers of the Russian parliament also approved this budget plan.

As noted by the head of the Center for Countering Disinformation, Andrii Kovalenko, the enemy's recent actions suggest that their main plan is to continue a large-scale war against Ukraine. Meanwhile, Kyiv's stance remains unchanged – seeking peace through the use of force.

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It is worth mentioning that the British intelligence pointed to record losses of the Russian army:

• In November 2024, the average daily losses of the Russian army amounted to 1,523 people.
• The total number of casualties per month exceeded 45,000 people, which is the highest figure for the entire war.

Also, experts from the Institute for the Study of War announced significant losses of the Russian military during the autumn offensive on the territory of Ukraine in 2024. According to their calculations, about 53 dead soldiers are recorded for each square kilometer of captured territory.

In particular, a new maximum was recorded on November 28, when the number of losses exceeded 2,000 people per day. In total, in November, the personnel losses amounted to 45,690 people, the highest monthly figure in the last five months.

In three months of active offensive operations—in September, October, and November 2024—Russian troops lost 125,800 soldiers and captured 2,356 square kilometers.