After SPIEF, Vladimir Putin was a guest at another economic forum, the Eurasian Economic Union in Minsk. At this event, he held a press conference where he said: “The West is constantly burying Russia, but they will soon die too.” Putin responded in this way to a question about relations between Russia and the West.
President Vladimir Putin also said at a press conference with media representatives after the summit: “13.5 trillion rubles out of 223 trillion rubles of GDP are spent on military spending, 6.3% of GDP. Putin noted that this is a large figure, calling it one of the budget problems that “we are solving with dignity.” Russia’s GDP is still at 3.5%.
He also explained that “relations between Russia and the United States are starting to stabilize, the first steps have been taken. Operational contacts have been established between the main departments and special services; Russia is ready for the third round of negotiations with Ukraine, but the date and place have yet to be determined. The parties will continue contacts after the exchanges are completed”
“Russia is ready to transfer another 3,000 bodies of deceased soldiers to Ukraine, in addition to the 6,000 already transferred. The draft memoranda between Russia and Ukraine on the agreement are in stark contrast with each other. They should be discussed during the third round of negotiations”
Putin on the West’s attempts to “bury” the Russian economy: “they will soon die themselves.” ? On the issue of Russia attacking NATO: “Well, they are talking nonsense,” the Russian president said;
Russia plans to reduce defense spending in the next three years. There is still no agreement between the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Defense and other departments.
Ukrainian accounts are in a worse state. The Ukrainian government approves changes to the state budget to cover a deficit of more than 400 billion hryvnias for the army, says MP Zhelzenyak. The document is expected to be submitted to parliament soon. Last year, the army deficit was covered by raising taxes.
This year, the government proposes to cover the deficit of 400 billion hryvnias for the army by taking on new debts and collecting taxes from Ukrainian businesses. In particular, it proposes to adjust the expenditure part of the state budget by 397 billion hryvnias: increase spending on individual budget programs by 448 billion hryvnias (including 412 billion hryvnias for the security and defense sector) and reduce spending and loans by 51 billion hryvnias. “Let me explain. To fill the hole, dear business, they will ask you +150 billion more than expected, plus another 250 billion hryvnia of debt”, Zheleznyak said.
Ukrainian MP Nina Yuzhanina also added that 75% of Ukraine’s annual budget was spent in the first quarter on the security and defense sector, hence the “hole” in the budget. According to Yuzhanina, the reason for this deficit was the lack of armed support from Ukraine’s partners in the first quarter of 2025.
Recall that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked the supporting countries for 40 billion to cover the budget holes and buy weapons to defeat Russia.
Graziella Giangiulio
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