According to Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Russia has cash to sustain the four regions of Ukraine that President Vladimir Putin started annexing last week. These funds are included in the nation's budget.
After holding what it referred to as referendums in Ukraine's seized regions, Russia announced the annexations of the provinces. The ballots, according to Western nations and Kiev, violated international law and were coerced and unrepresentative.
“Priority for the next three years will be the full integration of the new regions,” Siluanov said, without saying how much would be spent.
“The federal budget has necessary resources for this, both for the current provision of social standards… as well as funds for the economic restoration of the new regions of the Russian Federation.”
Russia plans to earn 27.7 trillion roubles this year and to spend 29 trillion roubles, leading to a deficit of 1.3 trillion roubles or 0.9% of gross domestic product (GDP), according to the finance ministry.
The budget deficit is expected to widen to 2% of GDP next year before narrowing to 0.7% of GDP in 2025.
Russia has classified the purpose of 6.6 trillion roubles in spending, or nearly a quarter of its total expenditures, next year, a draft of the state budget showed last week.