Russia's war expenses will almost double next year - British intelligence

The military intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Great Britain reports this on Twitter.

Russia raised RUB 820 billion ($13.6 billion) in a single day conducting debt issuance on November 16, 2022, which was a record for the country.

“This is important for Russia as debt issuance is a key mechanism to sustain defence spending, which has increased significantly since the invasion of Ukraine,” the ministry writes.

UK intelligence notes that Russia plans to spend over RUB 5 trillion (USD $84 billion) on "national defense" in 2023, an increase of more than 40% above the preliminary 2023 budget announced in 2021.

“Debt issuance is expensive during periods of uncertainty. The size of this auction highly likely indicates the Russian Ministry of Finance perceives current conditions as relatively favourable but is anticipating an increasingly uncertain fiscal environment over the next year,” the ministry concludes.