Russia spent RUB 2 trillion ($26 billion) on defense in January and February alone, a 282% jump compared to the same period a year ago.

The figures are provided by Reuters with reference to data from the Treasury of Russia.

They note that rising military production and huge state expenditures are keeping Russia’s industry buzzing along, helping soften the economic impact of Western sanctions.

In January and February 2023, more than 36% of the total expenditures of the Russian budget went to the military.

The data demonstrates that the country spent just over 40% of its planned annual defense sector allocation in January and February.

It is noted that about RUB 5 trillion are provided for the entire year 2023, but in January and February, Russia spent almost RUB 2 trillion of the planned annual allocation.

The Finance Ministry stopped publishing individual monthly budget fulfillment data last May but has now uploaded 2022 data to the portal.

It is also stated that the Russian budget deficit for January-April 2023 is RUB 3.4 trillion, compared to a RUB 1.2 trillion surplus recorded in January-April 2022.

It is emphasized that Russia experiences significant losses, but energy revenues have dropped.

On the night of May 16, Ukrainian air defense destroyed 18 missiles and 9 enemy drones.

Six Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic air-launched ballistic missiles were launched from six MiG-31K fighter jets.

Nine Kalibr cruise missiles were launched from Russian warships in the Black Sea. The invaders also used three land-launched missiles (S-400, Iskander-M).