A sustainable “economy” of the Defense Ministry is a “basis” for a nation’s security, the president has said
A steady supply of a nation’s military and a healthy Defense Ministry’s economy are a necessary basis for security and Moscow can only rely on its own resources here, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday.
Speaking to journalist Pavel Zarubin, the Russian leader stressed the importance of an effective and sustainable operation of the defense ministry. Everything, including soldiers’ service pay and new equipment orders depends on it, the president said, adding that “it is very important. It is the basis.”
“We can only rely on ourselves in this regard,” Putin told Zarubin. “No one will come to us with open hands and just donate anything. We can only do it on our own. And we are succeeding.”
In late May, the president also said that “every ruble” spent on the Armed Forces should be used effectively. The funding should not only provide for the needs of the military but “fit in” with the national economy as well, he stated at that time.
Russia has ramped up its defense industry amid the ongoing conflict with Ukraine. In May, the head of the defense conglomerate Rostec, Sergey Chemezov, said that the production of self-propelled artillery pieces had increased tenfold while the manufacturing of towed guns grew by 14 times.
The output of ammunition rounds for tanks and infantry fighting vehicles increased by 900%, artillery shells by 600%, and munitions for MLRS by 800%, according to Chemezov, whose corporation supplies around 80% of arms used by the Russian military in the conflict.
Russia’s defense industry capabilities have repeatedly sparked concerns among Kiev’s Western backers. Ukraine mostly relies on foreign military aid in its standoff against Moscow. In February, the Guardian reported that Russia’s defense industry production increase had been “a lot higher” than many Western defense planners expected.
“We still haven’t seen where Russia’s breaking point,” Mark Riisik, a deputy director in the policy planning department of Estonia’s defense ministry, told the British paper.
In March, CNN reported that Russia was about to produce three times more artillery shells than the US and the EU combined. The US military had set a goal to produce 100,000 artillery rounds per month by the end of 2025, the broadcaster said at that time, adding that it was “less than half of the Russian monthly output.”
Moscow has repeatedly stated that the continued Western arms aid only prolongs the conflict without changing its outcome. According to Germany’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy, which tracks the Western financial and military aid to Kiev, Washington and its allies had already spent tens of billions of dollars on weapons for Ukraine.
The US leads the list of Kiev’s biggest weapons donors with €50.4 billion ($53.89 billion) spent on arms for Ukraine. Germany and the UK come second and third with €10.2 billion ($10.91 billion) and €8.8 billion ($9.41 billion) respectively.
The Russian troops have still been on the offensive in recent months, making steady gains in the Donbass and launching a new operation in the northeastern Kharkov Region in May.
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