Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a record-breaking defence budget, amounting to a third of government spending.
The budget for 2025 will take the amount allocated for national defence to 13.5 trillion roubles, (over A$198 billion) up from 10.8 trillion roubles in 2024.
This totals 32.5% of government spending.
However, the new three-year budget forecasts a minor reduction in military spending for both 2026 and 2027.
Lawmakers in both houses of the Russian parliament approved the budget over a 10-day period.
This record-breaking budget comes as Russia's war with Ukraine gets close to the three year mark and continues to drain resources and spending.
It is the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II with Moscow currently making key gains along the front lines, while Ukraine continues to received military aid from allied Western nations.
While Russia has the advantage for military spending and personnel, they are facing labour shortages and inflation is spiralling, with the Russian Central Bank raising interest rates to 21% back in October, the highest in decades
