The Kremlin sounded the alarm on its deteriorating finances earlier this year, just as its war on Ukraine pivoted dramatically against Russian forces.
According to a letter seen by the Financial Times, Russia’s finance ministry estimated in Feb. that spending on Vladimir Putin’s war was on pace to exceed its budget by at least 2 trillion rubles this year, or about $28 billion, with a more negative scenario putting that figure at 4 trillion rubles.
