Putin signs off record Russian defense spending as top EU officials visit Kyiv

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****** signs off record Russian defense spending as top EU officials visit Kyiv

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia’s President Vladimir ****** chairs a Security Council meeting via videoconference in Moscow on November 8, 2024. 

Vyacheslav Prokofyev | Afp | Getty Images

Russian President Vladimir ****** approved budget plans, raising 2025 military spending to record levels as Moscow seeks to prevail in the war in Ukraine.

Around 32.5% of the budget posted on a government website Sunday has been allocated for national defense, amounting to 13.5 trillion rubles (over $145 billion), up from a reported 28.3% this year.

Lawmakers in both houses of the Russian parliament, the State Duma and Federation Council, had already approved the plans in the past 10 days.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine since February 2022 is Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II and has drained the resources of both sides. Kyiv has been getting billions of dollars in help from its Western allies, but Russia’s forces are ******* and better equipped, and in recent months the Russian army has gradually been pushing Ukrainian troops backward in eastern areas.

New ********* Council President Antonio Costa and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas arrived in Kyiv on Sunday, marking their first day in office with a strong message of support for Ukraine. Their visit comes as doubts are deepening over what Kyiv can expect from a new U.S. administration led by Donald Trump.

“From day one of the war, the EU has stood by the side of Ukraine,” Costa posted on X, together with a photo of himself, Kallas and EU enlargement chief Marta Kos. “From day one of our mandate, we are reaffirming our unwavering support to the Ukrainian people.”

On the ground in Ukraine, three people ***** in the southern city of Kherson when a Russian drone struck a minibus on Sunday morning, regional Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said. Seven others were wounded in the *******.

Meanwhile, the number of wounded in Saturday’s missile strike in Dnipro in central Ukraine rose to 24, with seven in serious condition, Dnipropetrovsk Gov. Serhiy Lysak said. Four people were ******* in the *******.

Moscow sent 78 drones into Ukraine overnight into Sunday, Ukrainian officials said. According to Ukraine’s air force, 32 drones were destroyed and a further 45 drones were lost, likely having been electronically jammed.

In Russia, a child was ******* in a Ukrainian drone ******* in the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine, according to regional Gov. Alexander Bogomaz.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that 29 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight into Sunday in four regions of western Russia: 20 over the Bryansk region, seven over the Kaluga region, and one each over the Smolensk and Kursk regions.

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