Sunday, March 15, 2026 2:00:39 PM
Russia spent about 10.9 trillion rubles directly on military operations against Ukraine in 2025 — five times more than the combined income of all Russians living below the poverty line, according to a calculation based on Rosstat data released on Saturday, March 14, on the country’s GDP (213.5 trillion rubles), as well as remarks by Defense Minister Andrei Belousov. Speaking at a Defense Ministry board meeting, Belousov said spending “directly related to the special military operation” – the term used in Russia for its armed aggression against Ukraine – amounted to 5.1% of GDP. The combined income of all Russians living below the poverty line did not exceed 2 trillion rubles.
According to Rosstat (Federal State Statistics Service), 9.8 million people in Russia were living below the poverty line in 2025 – the first time the figure has fallen below 10 million. Their share of the population declined from 7.1% to 6.7%. Under the agency’s methodology, the poverty threshold stood at 16,903 rubles per month.
That means one-fifth of Russia’s spending on the war against Ukraine would, at least formally, have been enough to eliminate poverty in the country entirely – simply by raising the incomes of the poorest citizens to the official poverty line.
However, as The Moscow Times notes, the methodology used to define the poverty line itself has raised questions among experts. The indicator is based on the subsistence minimum from the fourth quarter of 2020, adjusted for official inflation. In reality, inflation for low-income citizens is typically higher than the national average.
The CMASF, an analytical center close to the authorities, calculates a separate measure known as “inflation for the poor,” based on a reduced consumer basket that includes a minimum set of food products, medicines, household chemicals and utility services, but excludes hotels and transport. That indicator regularly exceeds Russia’s overall inflation rate.
According to CMASF estimates, the real poverty threshold last year stood at 18,311 rubles for working-age adults, 16,621 rubles for children and 13,947 rubles for pensioners — the latter figure being 60% lower than the average pension, which amounted to 23,425 rubles last year.
(c)UAWIRE 2026
putler isn’t worried about killing off the poor in mafia land, it’s less pensions to pay out.
Yeah, the ghoul’s lust for blood is large enough, even the deaths of his own people only satisfies him. His walking dead meat puppets dying like flies without him blinbking an eye about it is proof enough.