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Russia Earmarks Almost $120Bln for Defense Over Next Three Years

Simonov Nikita / Moskva News Agency

Russia is set to spend 6.8 trillion rubles ($116.6 billion) on national defense over the next 3 years, Russia’s deputy finance minister said on Tuesday.

State Duma deputies passed the overall federal budget last week, with Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin saying it projects a GDP growth of 2 percent.

The Federation Council, Russia’s upper house of parliament, is scheduled to review the budget this Wednesday. 

Russia’s defense spending will average nearly 2.3 trillion rubles ($39.5 billion) from 2018 to 2020, a senior Finance Ministry official said at the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security meeting Tuesday, according to the Interfax news agency.

Deputy Finance Minister Leonid Gornin told senators that figures have been revised upward to account for spending on defense infrastructure, program implementation and procurement.

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