Russia spends nearly $1 bln daily on war against Ukraine – intelligence head Budanov

Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, reported that Russia spends nearly a billion dollars daily on war, with 41% of its national budget allocated to defense. By 2023, the Russian Federation's professional army had been depleted in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, leaving Russia to rely on mobilized personnel for its military operations.

The head of Ukraine's intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, reported this in an interview with Ukrinform.

The Russian Federation's expenses for the war in Ukraine

"This is a costly war in general. A day of war costs them a little less than a billion (dollars – ed.) – this is a huge amount of money," he said.

When asked about Russia's economic potential, the head of the military noted:

"Problems have already appeared, but we should not deceive ourselves. Even according to official data, 41 percent is the defense budget. These are abnormal figures. To implement this budget, almost all social programs, medical, educational …

The negative financial and economic impact on the Russian Federation is already noticeable."

At the same time, Budanov added that as long as the Russian Federation has oil, gas, metal, precious metals, and stones, "they will balance."

It is noted that Moscow secretly finances about half of military spending at the expense of significant debts, forcing banks to provide loans on non-market terms to enterprises that supply goods and services for the needs of the war.

State of the Russian army

As the head of intelligence noted, the professional army of the Russian Federation was destroyed in the Russian-Ukrainian war by 2023; now, the Russians are fighting with mobilized soldiers.

"How do I assess their condition now? The professional army was destroyed sometime before 2023, and then Russia was fighting with mobilized soldiers. Although formally they are all contract soldiers, the approach is the same: they take a person, a maximum of two weeks – and he is at the front.

They are fighting purely by numbers," he said.

Budanov also admitted that the Russians are "moving forward" at the front but not at the pace they had hoped for.

"Here, too, we must not deceive ourselves. Unfortunately, we must admit that since 2022, this has been simply a statement of fact. Look at the map on February 21, 2022, and what it is today; to say that they have not achieved anything is not true. They are moving forward; this is not the pace they were counting on.

Yes, in most areas, we managed to stop them, and in certain areas, they were successful. So they correctly understand that this war is disastrous for them and us, but they have the potential to move forward," the intel chief noted.

Budanov added that the human potential and mobilization resources of the Russian Federation allow them to advance at the front.

Speaking about the Russian Federation's further goal, the head of Ukraine's intelligence reported that it remains unchanged [capturing as much Ukrainian land as possible—ed.], but the fact that "Kyiv in three days" has turned into the third anniversary of the full-scale invasion indicates that "something went wrong."

The battles in Hostomel, Moshchun, and Irpin at the onset of the full-scale invasion were pivotal in thwarting Russia's plan for the "Kyiv in three days" special military operation.

It should be noted that the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, stated that the Russians cannot achieve their strategic goal of capturing Ukraine, so they resort to intimidation – missile and drone attacks.

The Third World War is already underway

The majority of developed countries are involved in the Russian-Ukrainian war, which means that the Third World War is already underway.

"This is a philosophical question; it depends on how you view it. For me, yes, the absolute majority of the strongest and most developed countries in the world are involved; it's just a fact," he said, answering whether the current war can be considered World War III.

For reference:

It is worth mentioning that the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom, former Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's armed forces Valerii Zaluzhny, believes that after the direct involvement of the DPRK and Iran as Russia's allies in the war against Ukraine, World War III has begun.

It should be noted that the Russian Federation continues to deepen bilateral relations with Iran and North Korea in exchange for providing lethal assistance to its army for use against Ukraine.

It is worth adding that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin seeks to create a coalition of countries to try to position the union as a real alternative to NATO.