Russia's parliamentarians are aware of how much is being spent on the military operation in Syria, and they don't consider the sum to be extreme.
Valentina Matvienko, speaker of Russia's Federation Council, told Interfax that the costs of maintaining the operation in Syria correspond to Russia's capabilities.
"It is simply impossible for the parliament to be excluded and unaware of the amount of spending on defense and that which goes to other components," she said.
Matvienko would not say what the amount spent on defense was, explaining that this was a "state secret."
In March, President Vladimir Putin claimed that the campaign in Syria, which started in September 2015, had cost Russia 33 billion rubles ($523 million). However, in September, the RBC newspaper reported that in one year of operation in Syria, costs may have been no less than 58 billion rubles ($920 million). Most of the costs come from air support flights and cruise missile strikes.
