Russian budget deficit just hit trillions, creating a massive wartime budget gap

Mounting financial strain is beginning to expose the true cost of Russia’s prolonged war effort. What was once framed as a manageable burden is now colliding with the hard limits of state finances and economic capacity. Years of sustained military spending are draining reserves faster than they can be replenished, while revenue streams grow weaker under sanctions and war-induced distortions. The imbalance is no longer temporary or cyclical, but structural, tying the survival of the budget directly to the continuation of the conflict. As fiscal pressure rises, trade-offs between war funding and domestic stability are becoming impossible to hide or defer. This emerging reality is turning Russia’s budget into a strategic vulnerability, shaping political choices as much as battlefield outcomes.

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