Creative accounting of the Kremlin. Russia spends up to two-thirds more on its military than expected

Russia's actual military spending has been as much as 66 percent in recent years. higher than officially reported – reported the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND). According to her findings, the Russian government included part of the army's costs in other budget items.

According to German foreign intelligence, Russia does not include some of its military expenditure in the defense ministry's budget, instead including it in other budget items. This includes, among others: army construction and IT projects as well as social benefits for soldiers.

BND indicated that the discrepancies may also result from the Russian interpretation of defense spending, which differs from the definition used by NATO. The intelligence service emphasized that official Russian data is often distorted and requires additional analysis.

BND's analysis also shows that since the start of a full-scale war against Ukraine in February 2022, Russia's military budget has been growing steadily. In 2025, these expenses reached approximately EUR 250 billion, which corresponds to nearly 10 percent. Russian GDP. For comparison, in 2022 they accounted for approximately 6%. GDP, in 2023 – 6.7 percent, and in 2024 – 8.5 percent.

“These numbers clearly reflect the growing threat to Europe from Russia,” BND said, pointing out that these funds are used not only to wage war against Ukraine, but also to further expand its military potential, including in regions near NATO's eastern flank.

BND chief Martin Jaeger warned in October that Russia was “hiding its intentions” by actually seeking to test the West. As he emphasized, Europe must prepare for further aggravation of the situation, and Moscow's actions are aimed at weakening NATO, destabilizing European democracies, deepening social divisions and intimidation.

From Berlin Iwona Weidmann (PAP)

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