Russian military to get more new weapons

The Russian Cabinet today allocated the equivalent of $6.8bn (€5bn) to buy new weapons next year, and the defence minister reaffirmed the military’s readiness to strike terrorists outside Russia’s borders.

Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov told the Cabinet that the amount of funds earmarked for the weapons purchases in 2005 represented an increase in comparison with this year, but wouldn’t say by how much. “That will help the high-tech sector of our industries,” Fradkov said.

The overall Russian military budget, which includes new weapons purchases, rose by 27.6% and remained the biggest item in Russia’s 2005 budget at 531.06 billion roubles (€7.3bn).

After a decade of desperate funding shortages that followed the 1991 Soviet collapse, President Vladimir Putin’s government has steadily increased military spending over the past few years, thanks to steadily rising revenues from the export of oil, Russia’s main cash-earner.

But despite the increases, Russia’s military spending has remained a fraction of the US defence budget, which stands at $417.5bn (€306.9bn) for 2005.

Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov, who spoke after the Cabinet session, said that the armed forces next year will get seven intercontinental ballistic missiles, nine military satellites and five booster rockets.