1.5% Of Russia's GDP Went Toward Soldier Payouts, Data Shows

Payouts to Russian troops participating in the war in Ukraine and to the injured and families of those killed on the battlefield over the past year amounted to roughly 1.5 percent of Russia's GDP, the analytical project Re: Russia found.

The Russian government paid out approximately 2.75 to 3 trillion rubles ($31-$33.9 billion) between July 2023 and June 2024, according to Re: Russia, which is headed by political scientist Kirill Rogov, and describes itself as a project dedicated to the promotion and discussion of current expert and analytical knowledge about Russia.

This figure is the equivalent to roughly 1.4–1.6 percent of Russia's expected GDP in 2024, 7.5–8.2 percent of Russia's federal budget expenditures for this year, and 3.4–3.7 percent of all consumer expenditures of Russians last year, it found.

Newsweek has contacted Russia's Foreign Ministry for comment by email.

Russia's economy has been strained by sanctions imposed by the West in response to the war in Ukraine, and being isolated from the financial system. However, it has shown resilience, and the International Monetary Fund forecast on Tuesday a Russian GDP growth of 3.2 percent in 2024.

A week into Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged that injured men could claim compensation of 3 million rubles ($50,000 at the time), saying it was "our duty to support the families of our fallen and injured war comrades."

And in April 2022, Russia's defense ministry published a statement on its website saying that to be eligible for compensation, injuries sustained needed to be among those on an official list—a move that came as reports emerged that Russia was sustaining heavy casualties on the battlefield.

Despite the large sums being paid out to Russian soldiers and the families of those killed in battle, reports have cropped up throughout the war that Russian authorities have refused to pay soldiers compensation for those wounded in battle. And Russian soldiers have complained about the Kremlin's payment system for injuries sustained in the conflict in Ukraine.

In October 2023, a Russian military court refused to pay a soldier compensation for his injuries because the wounds he received were caused by Russian forces.

Khizri Kurazov, a member of the National Guard of Russia (Rosgvardiya)—Putin's internal security forces—asked to be paid the promised 3 million rubles as he had received multiple injuries from a mine blast while serving in Ukraine. A certificate from a military hospital confirmed the injuries, local media reported.

But a garrison military court in Kabardino-Balkaria in Russia's North Caucasus region refused to pay the soldier, stating that his injuries had been caused by the actions of his fellow Russian troops and therefore were "not related to the direct performance of service and combat missions."

Kurazov reportedly contested the ruling, saying that Putin's presidential decree doesn't say that injuries sustained in Ukraine must be caused by Kyiv's forces.

The National Guard attempted to appeal the ruling, but the military court again ruled that "being wounded while in the Northern Military District zone does not in itself mean acquiring the right to a lump-sum payment," and refused to pay Kurazov.

And in April, Ukraine's Military Intelligence (HUR) said it intercepted a phone call from a Russian soldier who could be heard saying that the Kremlin has been listing deceased fighters as "missing" rather than dead to avoid paying compensation.

Do you have a tip on a world news story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about the Russia-Ukraine war? Let us know via worldnews@newsweek.com.

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.