Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a national budget for the next three years that increases spending by around 25% and reportedly devotes a robust amount to defense as Russia’s war in Ukraine drags on.
The budget foresees spending in 2024 of $415 billion with an expected deficit of $9.5 billion.
After the budget was passed by the lower house of the parliament, Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said it was developed specifically to fund the military and to mitigate the impact of international sanctions imposed on Russia after its Ukraine invasion in February 2022.
Record low unemployment, higher wages and targeted social spending should help the Kremlin use most of its budget to fund the military, but could present a problem in the long term, analysts say.
Part of the Russian budget is secret as the Kremlin tries to conceal its military plans and sidestep scrutiny of its military operation in Ukraine. However, it is estimated that around 39% of all federal spending will go to the military and law enforcement, according to independent business journalists Farida Rustamova and Maksim Tovkaylo.
EU-Ukraine
While on a visit to Kyiv on Monday, EU Commission Vice President Vera Jourova praised Ukraine’s fight against corruption, but said additional efforts were needed if Ukraine aspires to become a member of the European Union.
In November, the commission recommended that the 27-member EU formally start accession talks once Ukraine meets several remaining conditions, including strengthening anti-corruption efforts.
Jourova said she was impressed with Ukraine’s improvement since 2017. However, she added there are still things that need to be done.
She also stressed that the EU needed "to think about our absorption capacity" when it comes to new members' accession and adapt the system.
Membership talks take years as candidates must meet extensive legal and economic criteria before joining. The EU is also unwilling to take in a country that is at war.
NATO meeting
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to Brussels Monday for a NATO meeting where he will pledge NATO’s ongoing support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O'Brien told reporters.
The war between Israel and Hamas and concerns of the war widening in the Middle East have raised questions whether Washington can sustain the level of military and diplomatic support it has offered Ukraine since Russia's invasion in February 2022.
Asked about a report by Germany's Bild newspaper that the United States and Germany were quietly nudging Kyiv into negotiations with Moscow, O'Brien said Washington does not have such a policy.
"We've always said that this is a matter for Ukraine to decide," he said.
Germany is trying to fend off an economic crisis triggered by high energy costs and skyrocketing prices since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Berlin’s ruling coalition unveiled a supplementary budget Monday that will temporarily lift a self-imposed cap on borrowing, allowing it to tap into an extra 45 million euros.
The budget, which parliament must approve, will see Germany suspend its constitutionally enshrined debt brake for a fourth year in a row.
Polish blockade continues
Meanwhile, Polish truckers and farmers started a round-the-clock blockade of access to one of the busiest border crossings with Ukraine Monday, extending a protest that has left over a thousand trucks stranded for days in queues that stretch for miles.
The truckers, now blocking the Medyka crossing as well as three other border crossings, protest that they are losing out to Ukrainian competition, which offers cheaper prices for services and goods within the European Union.
Ukraine’s grain and other exports are increasing in the Black Sea as growing numbers of ships carrying grain, metals and other cargo are using Ukraine’s ports through a new, narrow shipping corridor protected by the military.
The route is still threatened by Russian attacks and explosive mines, but the increased exports are giving a boost to Ukraine’s agriculture-dependent economy.
It is also bringing back a key source of wheat, corn, barley, sunflower oil and other affordable food products for parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia, where local prices have increased, and food insecurity is growing.
"We are seeing renewed confidence among commercial operators keen to take Ukrainian grain cargoes,” said Munro Anderson, head of operations for Vessel Protect, which assesses war risks at sea and provides insurance with backing from Lloyd’s, whose members make up the world’s largest insurance marketplace.
Artifacts returned
More than a thousand ancient Scythian artifacts from museums in Russian-occupied Crimea dating back to the 7th century B.C. have been returned to Ukraine after a legal dispute over ownership rights. The artifacts stayed for almost a decade in the Netherlands where they were on loan when Russia invaded Crimea, the National Museum of History of Ukraine said Monday.
The museum had previously said the collection would be stored in the museum until the de-occupation of Crimea.
Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
