In this group photo released by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russian President Vladimir Putin presides over a Security Council meeting via video conference in Moscow on November 8, 2024.
Vyacheslav Prokofiev | AFP | Getty Images
Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a budget plan to increase military spending to a record level in 2025 as Moscow hopes to achieve victory in the war in Ukraine.
About 32.5% of the budget published on Sunday’s government website was devoted to defense, amounting to 13.5 trillion rubles (more than $145 billion), up from the 28.3% reported this year.
Members of both houses of Russia’s parliament, the State Duma and the Federation Council have approved the plans in the past 10 days.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine since February 2022 has been the largest conflict in Europe since World War II, exhausting the resources of both sides. Kiev has been receiving billions of dollars in help from Western allies, but Russia’s larger and better-equipped military has gradually pushed Ukrainian forces to the rear in the east in recent months.
New European Council President Antonio Costa and EU foreign policy chief Kaya Karas arrived in Kyiv on Sunday to mark their first day in office and delivered a strong message of support for Ukraine. Their visit comes amid deepening doubts in Kyiv about expectations of the new U.S. government under Donald Trump.
“The EU has been with Ukraine since the first day of the war,” Costa posted on X, along with a photo of himself, Karas and EU enlargement chief Marta Kos. “From our first day in office, we have reaffirmed our unwavering support for the people of Ukraine.”
Oleksandr Prokudin, the governor of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, said a Russian drone crashed into a minibus on Sunday morning, killing three people. Seven others were injured in the attack.
Meanwhile, Dnepropetrovsk Region Governor Serhiy Lysak said the number of people injured in a missile attack in Dnipro in central Ukraine on Saturday rose to 24, seven of whom were seriously injured. Four people were killed in the attack.
Ukrainian officials said Moscow sent 78 drones to Ukraine from night to Sunday. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, 32 drones were destroyed and another 45 were lost, possibly due to electronic jamming.
Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of Russia’s Bryansk region, said a child was killed in a Ukrainian drone strike.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that as of Sunday, 29 Ukrainian drones had been shot down in four regions of western Russia: 20 over the Bryansk region, seven over the Kaluga region, and one over the Smolensk and Kursk regions. One plane.
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